


Taken

by DramioneIsSuperior



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Sex, dramione - Freeform, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:47:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29124408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramioneIsSuperior/pseuds/DramioneIsSuperior
Summary: The alcove overlooking the courtyard leading to Hogsmeade was Hermione's favorite place at Hogwarts.Not many, if any other than Harry, knew of Hermione's little piece of heaven so it came as quite a shock when Theodore Nott slipped into the short hallway leading into the room.——————————7th year Hogwarts, Voldemort does not returnMystery solving Hermione, Draco, and TheoSlow burn
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 37
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys, I much like anyone who is reading this, have been sucked back into the rabbit hole that is fan fiction and I have gone down an even deeper hole that is Dramione. I have not been able to get this idea out of my head for a couple of days now so I had to write it all down. I have everything outlined so I know roughly the ending. I have previously written *cringe* 1D fan fiction on my other account but wanted to start fresh for a Dramione account. So if you are reading this thank you so much and hope you enjoy my current brainchild :)
> 
> *I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED BY (unfortunately) J.K ROWLING*

The alcove overlooking the courtyard leading to Hogsmead was Hermione's favorite place at Hogwarts. Shortly after one of many fights between Ron and Hermione's first year, she stumbled upon the alcove while looking for a quiet place to cry, since then it has become somewhat of a safe haven for her. Not many, if any other than Harry, knew of Hermione's little piece of heaven so it came as quite a shock when Theodore Nott slipped into the short hallway leading into the room, sliding his satchel down beside her discarded one and dropping heavily onto the window seat beside her.

"Merlin Granger, I have been looking for you everywhere."

Startled by the relaxed tone in his voice Hermione slapped her book closed, carefully glancing at the brunette Slytherin, "Pardon?" She replied quietly.

Theo glanced at her before turning and shuffling around in his bag. She stiffened and mentally chastised herself for leaving her wand in her bag which was far closer to him than she would like. "I've tried stopping you after almost every class and each time you practically apparat before my eyes." He pulled a thin book from his bag before dropping it in his lap and grabbing a pair of glasses from inside his robe.

Confused, Hermione sat up while slightly leaning further into the wall behind her and away from Theo. "I don't know what you are on about, Nott." She quickly glanced toward the hallway that leads into the main corridor weighing her options, stay in the secluded alcove with a boy she hardly knew, or rush into the corridor so at least someone knew she was there.

"Honestly Granger, what has you so jumpy?" His eyes quirked up over the book he held in his hand locking to her obviously terrified ones. "Where are you going? I just got here."

"Look, I don't know what your plan is here Nott, but you can tell Malfoy to sod off, I don't want any trouble this year," She had slowly started to shuffle toward the corridor in hopes of getting away from whatever cruel prank they had set up. For Merlin's sake it was only the third week of the school year, couldn't they at least wait a month.

Suddenly Theo stood up, his chest slightly brushing her shoulder- since when had he gotten so big? She could only remember being in class with him a handful of times and every time she saw him in the great hall he always looked so small. All at once his hand shot out grabbing ahold of her wrist causing her to let out a sharp breath, "Wait," he was reaching behind himself and it took everything in her not to reach within core magic to send a silent stupefy, "You're forgetting your bag."

Shocked that she had almost forgotten it, she snatched the strap from his outward hand, "Thanks." She hissed out suddenly aware of how close he was in the small hallway she stumbled backward bumping into the wall behind her, "Why are you here Nott?"

His eyebrows quirked as his head slowly tilted to the side, "What do you mean? We always study hereafter class..." His eyes slowly shifted around her face, "Are you and Draco on the outs again?" He softly tutted as he ran his hands through his hair, effectively ruffling in as a curl flopped forward over his eyes, "Honestly when are you two going to get over this and admit your feelings? I'm getting whiplash between you two, one minute you are together and in love and the next you can't even stand to be in this same corridor as each other, what gives?"

If Hermione's eyebrows could have raised any further they would have been buried in the hairline. "Malfoy?" She spits out, "This is some twisted joke you two have going on, what are you getting out of this? What do you want to go around the whole school telling everyone that the Mudblood is in love with Draco Malfoy" She chuckled to herself, slinging her bag over her shoulder and turning toward the door, "Just leave me alone Nott."

She had only gotten halfway down the corridor on her way to Great Hall for lunch when she heard the loud stomping behind her as Theo caught up. "Seriously, what gives Granger?" He snapped while grabbing hold of her upper arm and spinning her toward him.

Within a blink of an eye, she had her wand out and at the ready against his throat, "Don't touch me, Theodore Nott, I will hex you into next week do not test me." He snatched his hand from her arm raising both in front of his body in a show of surrender. She slowly started backward not taking her eyes off of the Slytherin until she had rounded the corner, waiting a couple of heartbeats and satisfied that he was no longer following, she turned on her heels and started toward the Great Hall again.

As she entered the hall she noted that Malfoy was sitting alone at the Slytherin table looking down at his goblet as if all of life's answers swirled in his pumpkin juice. Happy to see that she put him in a foul mood since his little prank hadn't worked she tilted her chin up glancing down the Gryffindor table in search of her two best friends. Halfway down the table, she spotted Ginny's fiery red hair turning back and forth between what she could only assume was Harry and Ron.

She sighed as she continued through the hall hearing broken pieces of conversation, most of which had the words 'missing' echoed throughout. "There you are!" She jumped slightly as Ron jumped from the table snatching her hand and dragging her toward Harry and Ginny, "Merlin, we thought something bad had happened! No one has seen you since after Transfiguration."

Catching herself from rolling her eyes she sat down beside Ginny in the spot Ron had occupied, "Honestly, Ronald you know I study for my free class before lunch what are you on about?" She had started to pile some food onto her plate as she had missed breakfast this morning since she over read on her favorite book she was starving.

"Right, sorry," Ron sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "It's just, after hearing that Greengrass has gone missing-"

"Missing?"

He nodded his head as he slightly pushed Dean further down the table so he could sit beside Hermione. "Yeah, we only just found out, but apparently she's been missing since her last class yesterday, her roommates said she never returned for bed count last night." He shrugged his shoulders again grabbing a roll of bread off of the plate in front of him, "Doesn't matter though, right? One less Slytherin to worry about."

Next to her, Ginny paled even more than she thought she could, "You git!" She yelped reaching over Hermione to slap him over the head, reminding her so much of Molly, "She isn't the first to go missing," She turned to Harry raising a perfectly arch eyebrow at him, silently communicating with each other, Hermione grumbled to herself as she took another bite of her mashed potatoes- she really hated when they did that. "I don't think she'll be the last either."

The hair on the back of Hermione's neck slowly started to raise as she could feel two pairs of eyes on her, slowly and as subtly as possible, she peeked over her shoulder to find that Theo had finally entered the hall sitting beside Malfoy both eyes on her as they whispered hurriedly toward each other. Snapping her eyes closed and turning back toward her plate, "Yeah, well I know of a couple of Slytherins I wouldn't mind going missing."


	2. Chapter 2

Following lunch, all Hermione could hear was this whisper about the missing Greengrass girl; even as she slid into her seat in double portions, most of the students were still mumbling about it.

"I suppose everyone has heard the rumors that Mrs. Greengrass is missing. I can assure you that is not the case; even if it is none of your business, I would like you all to know that Mrs. Greengrass is just home visiting her family, a family emergence, nothing too serious." Snape swooped into the class like normal, his long black cloak all but smacking a Hufflepuff as he floated by, "Ah, Mr. Nott, Malfoy, nice to see you've finally joined my class." Not even bothering to turn around, Snape continued to lay out his supplies for what Hermione can only assume is the potion they were learning to make this week.

"I'm sorry Professor, Malfoy-"

"I don't care to hear any false excuses your simple mind must be trying to make up; take a seat, Mr. Nott" He waved his hand at both of the Slytherins, very unusual that he was snippy with the two as he usually favored his own house. "We've had a dropout already, so it seems that you two will have to be paired with Miss. Granger, who I can assure you will not mind at all."

Snape turned his beady eyes toward Hermione, daring her to object, but she merely glared back. Instead, it was Malfoy who spoke up, "Sir, Theo and I can work together; I'm sure Granger doesn't mind working alone; she usually does all the work for Potter and Weasel anyway."

"Sit, Mr. Malfoy, or I will be made to take points away." He snapped his fingers, the two stools sitting beside Hermione slid out from under the table as he pointed the two toward her. "Now, as I was saying. This week we will be Dreamless Sleep potion, as Madam Pomfrey is running low-"

Hermione had tuned out what he was saying as she could probably make the potion in her sleep; instead, she paid more attention to the two Slytherins who silently debated with each other who was going to take the stool directly beside her. Cursing Harry and Ron for deciding not to take potions this year, she turned her head to glare at Theo, knocking her head toward the stool, "Just sit down before we get in trouble," she hissed.

Both of them hung their heads as Theo slid into the seat beside her and Draco on the other side, leaving Theo sandwiched between them. "Hermione, would you happen to have an extra piece of parchment?" She cut her eyes toward him, silently telling him to shut up lest Snape takes house points from all of them. "Ok, never mind, I guess, Malfoy-"

"Mr. Nott, not only were you late to my class, but now it seems you can't even be bothered to bring the necessary items with you. That'll be ten points from Slytherin."

Hermione pushed her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh; that's what the git deserves. Now that Snape was finished explaining the potion they would be making for the rest of the week to stock up Madam Pomfrey's back stock she stole a glance back to Theo, who was now leaning over and whispering to Malfoy low enough for her not to hear, "I guess since you two need to chat, even more, I'll go get the supplies."

As she started to rise from her seat, Theo leaped up, "No worries, Hermione, I've got it." He sent Malfoy a knowing smirk over his shoulder as he walked toward the supplies closet.

Ignoring Malfoy, she started to clear the table to get ready for brewing; the potion wouldn't take all class, but she wanted to start on it as soon as possible. The faster they got it done, the faster she could get away from them.

Theo returned smiling to himself as he set the ingredients on the table, placing them in the brew order. Scrunching her nose, she thought how odd he set them out the exact way she places hers out as well; most people just put things down where ever they could find space; Hermione had to set everything out a certain way, so she could actually concentrate.

"I know how you like things, Hermione."

Shaking her head from her thoughts, she glanced up at him, "It's the most common sense thing, Nott. I'm sure I'm not the only one that does it."

Rolling his eyes, Theo pulling something from his robes and opened his hand toward her, "Here." In his outward stretched hand sat a hair tie, "I know how your hair gets while brewing; it looks like a nest, I don't want to die by suffocation."

"Uh, thanks?" She squeaked out as she took hold of the hair tie. This had to be some joke, right? Why would Theo bring a hair tie to class? He didn't have enough hair to tie back himself. Glancing at Malfoy, she noticed how his eyes shot between the hair tie and Theo before turning to the book that sat in front of him. "Right so-"

"Save the lecture, Granger. We know how to brew this stupid potion; we were taught it in second year."

Sucking in her breath, she turned toward Malfoy, who had a sneer on his face. This was the first time he spoke to her all year, and of course, he was being... well, Malfoy. "Okay..." She drew out, not sure what to say, if anything.

"The tension" Theo slapped his hands together, pulling her attention away from the pompous ass, "Right, so who wants to start first?"

——

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Hermione shot out of the room, eager to get away from the two Slytherins as fast as possible. As she turned the corner, she ran straight into a body, sending her flying back before she could get a steady her feet, "Merlin, 'mione are you okay?"

"Godric, Harry, you scared the life out of me," She mumbled as she steadied herself by grabbing his sleeve, "I'm sorry, just a little jumpy,"

He smiled down at her, shifting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, "S'ok, wanna head back to the common room together?" She nodded, adjusting the bag on her shoulder, "So, what's got you so jumpy?"

Snorting, "You're the second person to ask me that," she mumbled under her breath. "Well, thanks to you, I've been partnered with Malfoy and Nott for potions."

"Sorry, you know it was an elective this year, and you know how much Ron and I hate Snape,"

"I know, I know," she waved him off. Ever since Sirius had told Harry about their childhood, he disliked him even more. He thought it was disgusting that Snape had a crush on his mother while Hermione thought it sweet; even a slimy man like him needed love. "It's just, it's our last year, and I wanted us to spend it together; what with me being Head Girl, I don't get much time outside of class to be with you two."

Harry quietly muttered the password to the fat lady before swinging the portal hole open for her, "Which is why I was coming down to the dungeons to walk you back to the common room. I know Ron and I have been busy the last two weeks since it is our last year for quidditch, and I am captain; we will be busy a lot. But tomorrow is Hogsmead day, do you want to come with? I know you usually like to stay back and catch up on reading..."

She scoffed; that's not all she did. He made her sound so boring; sometimes, she went to the library to get a head start on homework- okay, yeah, she did sound boring. Rubbing her forehead, she replied, "You know what, that sounds good. Getting out of the castle might be good for me. I've had a weird morning so far."

"Brilliant!" His small smile stretched over his face, pushing his glasses further up his nose, "We can leave at 11 do some shopping and have a nice lunch." Pulling her into a hug and planting a quick kiss on top of her head her pulled away, edging back toward the door, "I've gotta go; we are doing a last-minute practice for the game this weekend. I'll see you at dinner!"

Before she could even get a bye in, he was out the door, leaving her alone in the Gryffindor common room. Shaking her head at him, she placed her bag on the couch in front of the fireplace before slipping her shoes off and joining it on the cushion. She had two more hours before dinner and could easily read her time away, but she couldn't get Theo out of her head. Why, all of a sudden, was he acting like they were best friends? Before the conversation this morning, they barely spoke aside from classes, which were far less than they had this year as most were electives for NEWTS.

What were he and Malfoy playing at?

\----

Theo shifted, glaring at Draco, who sat across from him in the Slytherin common room. Why wouldn't he listen to him? "So," he dragged out, squeezing his thumb and forefinger at the bridge of his nose. "Tell me again why you think Granger and I need to be friends? What does this have to do with Daphne?"

"Because Draco, you two are the smartest people in our year; if anyone can find out what happened to her, it's you two. She isn't just missing, she's-"

"Been taken. Yes, yes, I know Theodore." He cut in, waving him off. Theo didn't know how much more of this he could take. He wasn't sure how much he could tell, but something was off; he didn't know what. "But what does this have to do with Granger? Can't you and I figure it out? What if she has just gone to her parents for a family emergence?"

Groaning again, Theo rolled out his neck. "If you think she's just gone to her parents for a family emergence, why didn't Tori go with her?" Draco raised his eyebrows at the other boy. Well he did have a point, "Besides, what could be so important that she had to rush off and leave all of her stuff here and not tell any teachers?"

"Snape said this morning at prefects meeting just that was the case, why would he lie?" Draco was starting to get annoyed. Theo wouldn't take no for an answer. Why did it have to be him and Granger? He couldn't stand the know-it-all swot. "Look, Theo, you are one of my closest friends, but that's the line. She and I cannot stand each other."

Theo rose to his feet, pacing in front of the fireplace to the right of Draco, "It just doesn't make sense; why is it starting now?" He muttered to himself. Draco had had enough and made to leave, "Where are you going Draco, we have to figure this out before the next person is taken."

Draco shook his head, collecting his tie off of the table, "Next person? Listen to yourself, mate; you sound mental. Look, let's go to dinner and talk about this once we've both had some sleep, okay?"

"Fine, but after dinner, will you consider what I told you?"

Sighing heavily, Draco dropped his arm around the much slimmer Slytherin, "Yeah, sure mate, whatever you say. Granger and I are meant to be together." He snorted at the thought as if he would ever touch such a prude? The thought alone made him feel like he was insane.

Just as the two of them left the Slytherin common room, they ran into a 6th year Ravenclaw prefect, "Another one has gone missing. You need to return to your common room," He snapped before rushing off to tell other students the same thing.

Draco turned to look at Theo, who looked ever more the Slytherin as his face slowly turned green, "It's happening."


	3. Chapter 3

By the next morning, news of another student gone missing had passed through the entire castle. Because of this, Hogsmeade day was on the line. "Professor, all due respect," Hermione was exhausted; for the last 30 minutes, she had been in the headmasters' office arguing against canceling Hogsmeade. "We don't know that Daphne Greengrass is missing. Snape said just yesterday that she was visiting home for a family emergence. As for Terry, he's of age and has been known to leave on the weekend to visit his London girlfriend. He's probably safe," So she hoped or else she would feel terrible for outting him to Dumbledore like that; regardless if he was of age, he was not supposed to be leaving school grounds without written permission, which the headmaster knew.

Waving his hand at her, his eyes sought out Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, what do you say?" Knowing he always left the decision to her, Hermione had stopped her this morning before breakfast to plead with her.

"Albus, you know what I'm going to say," Her eyes shot over to Hermione, giving her a small wink, "They are children; they need their time to unwind. I am sure Miss. Greengrass and Mr. Boot are fine, as Hermione pointed out. However, if they do not show up by tomorrow, we may call the minister." Dumbledore gave a short nod agreeing with the Gryffindor head of the house. If it had been let up to Snape, she was sure their weekend plans would have been canceled.

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure the students will be happy to hear, and if it puts you at ease, the head boy and myself will do rounds to make sure everyone is okay in the village."

"Yes, yes, Miss. Granger, I am sure everything will be just fine under your watch. Please hurry along and enjoy yourself but be careful as well." He waved her off a final time as he turned toward his desk and started to write something down, obviously well over the conversation.

McGonagall smiled at the younger witch, ushering her toward the door, "Go now, Miss. Granger, make the announcements to your prefects so they can tell their houses and be safe."

Nodding her head, Hermione took her leave, practically skipping down the stairs out of the headmasters' office. She did not doubt in her mind the missing students were going to show up within the weekend; nothing bad ever happened at Hogwarts.

— —

After announcing to all prefects that Hogsmeade was still on, she stood in the entrance hallway collecting names of the students heading to the village.

Just as the line was coming to an end, Theo saddled up, dragging a muttering Malfoy behind him, "Good afternoon Miss. Hermione, Draco, and I would like to head into the village, a couple of things we need to pick up."

She smiled brightly at the two, as it was her head girl duty to take names, and Erine had just left to join his Hufflepuff housemates, "Of course, when will the two of you be returning? I need to keep a record of who will be in the village today to keep an eye out."

"Hmm, we will probably catch a late lunch, then head back to the castle. What time do you think, Malfoy? 6 o'clock?" He turned to the blonde, who just shot him a glare before turning up his nose and heading toward the courtyard. "Well, I guess that settles it then. Feel free to join us, Hermione; I wouldn't mind at all." He smiled brightly at her before giving her a quick wink and rushing after Malfoy.

Her face slowly started to heat at the small wink. Theo wasn't a terrible-looking guy, the opposite, in fact; his chestnut-colored hair was wavy, slightly on the curly side, a couple of pieces in the front more curly than the rest often slide down his forehead covering his forest green eyes. Where Malfoy always had a smirk on his face, Theo usually had a warm smile that seemed to light up the room, a hard feat to accomplish when he was around Malfoy, who seemed to suck all the warmth from the room.

Shaking her head at letting her mind wander, she tucked her clipboard under harm arm rolling the parchment up and tapping it twice with her wand, making a copy, which she sent to Professor Dumbledore. As she was slipping her wand back into the sleeve of her jumper, Harry and Ron slid beside her to start their short walk down to the village.

"Di'ja hear about Terry? One of the Ravenclaws told me he was missing. Think it's anything like Greengrass?"

"Ronald, you are just a gossip; he's probably just in London for the weekend with his girlfriend. He'll be back by Monday." If she had to hear about missing students one more time today, she thought she might lose it, "Let's not talk about them. Would you two like to come with me to the book store? I've heard of a few reads that I wanted to pick up in London but didn't get the chance. The shopkeep owled me this morning to say he's got a couple of copies in this weekend and is holding them for me."

Ron snorted, very Weasley like of him, "Honestly 'Mione, can't you take a weekend off from reading? I thought you wanted to let loose? Harry and I are going to Sprintwitches to pick out some new gloves. Mine finally tore last night," he added shyly. They were probably hand-me-downs from George and Fred, so it wasn't a surprise that they finally wore down. "You can join us if you want to; I know you don't really like quidditch."

Shaking her head and looping her arm through the two boys' arms, she said, "It's fine. Honestly, some alone time in the bookshop might do me good; it's been a crazy couple of days. I can meet you guys at honeydukes after? I've been really craving some sugar quills."

They both nodded, agreeing to meet back up at the sweet shop in an hour, and parted ways. She was a little upset they didn't want to come with her, but she understood. Hermione was always trying to push for them to try new books, but neither was really interested in reading outside of academics.

Sighing to herself, she stepped into the book shop, glancing toward the counter where the shopkeep was standing, reading his own book. She knew he had a couple of books stashed away for her under the counter, but she still wanted to browse the new selections before checking out. 

Turning toward her favorite section and taking a deep breath, she instantly calmed, being around books was always her favorite things, even when she was little, she made her mother buy a new book each time they went out to the shops her childhood bedroom was a mini library, and she loved it.

"Ah, I knew I would find you here, Hermione." Jumping softly at the warm voice that boomed behind her, she turned to face Theo. Why was it when she was trying to keep away from him, he was always two steps behind her? "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said softly as he placed a hand at her elbow to help steady her. "I've been trying to catch you alone since yesterday. I want to say sorry for how I barged in on you. I've just been having a sense of deja vu lately."

Slowly removing her arm from his hold, she backed up to the nearest bookcase. She wasn't scared of him, but something about Theodore Nott did make the hairs on her arms stand. "It's fine. You just confused me, is all. You were talking some nonsense after all."

His eyes glinted mischievously as a small smile found its way to his face, "Yeah... Nonsense. Anyway, I was trying to catch you and see if you wanted to grab a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks with me? I promise Draco won't be there."

"Oh, um," she started, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to try and shoo away the gooseflesh he was causing, "That's fine, thank you for the offer. I'm meeting Harry and Ron there soon."

Slowly his face fell as if he was disappointed by her answer, "Oh, well- I mean." He stuttered. Why was he all of a sudden shy around her? Where was the confidence and winking Theo from earlier? He cleared his throat, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets, "I'll leave you to the books then. I'm sure you're going to find something you love; you always do."

She titled her head to the side, a little confused with his wording as if he knew her personally. "Well, thanks... Have fun with Malfoy. Hope you two have a nice lunch." She added as an afterthought before turning around and looking at the book titles on the shelf behind her.

She heard Theo shuffle around for a second, thinking he was leaving before he spoke up again, "Hermione?" She turned around quickly; he was still standing in the same spot with his hands still stuffed in his pocket. "Um, be safe, okay." He said it as more of a statement than a question before turning and walking out of the store.

Shrugging off his odd behavior, she turned to pick a couple more books before making her way toward the front. The shopkeep smiled at her before pulling the books she had requested and the couple she had picked up and wrapped them for her shrinking them down to fit into her bag.

— —

Theo paced the alleyway behind the bookshop he just left. Malfoy was supposed to meet him back here in 10 minutes, but he was late. Nerves getting the better of him, he walked briskly to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Nearly bumping into someone, he shot out his hands to steady whoever it was only to find a glowering Draco.

"Merlin, could you not wait five fucking minutes, Nott?" He grumbled while shooing his hand away and dusting off the nonexistent lint, "Did you run into my 'girlfriend' Granger?" He sneered out as if it was a joke.

"Something isn't right."

Shaking his head, Draco led them down the street toward the Three Broomsticks, "Yeah, it's your head, you git. What's gotten into you lately, Theodore. You're gone for a couple of days, and now that you're back, you have it stuck in your head that Granger and I are some savior couple."

Theo stopped, clutching Draco's arm, stopping him as well, "This isn't some joke, Malfoy, I am serious. Everything I told you is true... just not here for some reason." He shook his head, and everything was starting to become blurry again.

Draco sneered at the boy again, yanking his arm from him and glancing around to make sure no one heard them. "Listen, Theo, maybe while you were gone, you got sick and are just confused. Maybe it was some hallucinatory dream you had; Granger and I are not together, nor will we ever be. We hate each other..." He added the last part a little more to himself as if trying to prove it. He and Granger did hate each other, and they have since third year when she slapped him. As if he would let someone like her ever touch him again.

Theo nodded his head slightly, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand, "You're right, Malfoy. Like some git like you could land a girl like Granger." He snickered before heading off before Draco.

Theo could hear him sputtering to himself before stomping back toward him, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?! As if a swot like Hermione Granger could land a Malfoy man like myself."

"Sure, mate, you go right ahead and tell yourself that one." His right hand grabbed the door to the Three Broomsticks as his left ushered Draco in first, "After you, M'lord," He said with a deep bow.

Draco chuckled to himself before sidestepping Theo and whacking him over the head with the heel of his palm, "Git," He mumbled.

Everything before two days ago seemed to be bleeding together, but one thing was for certain; Draco and Hermione were supposed to be together, and they were supposed to save the taken.

— —

As Hermione opened the door to Honeydukes, she was overwhelmed with the smell of sugar, which usually made her happy, but after her run-in with Theo, it made her somewhat sick. Standing on the tip of her toes, she craned her neck around, trying to spot the mop of orange hair she knew to be Ron.

The door behind her opened with a jingle as Harry and Ron stepped into the shop, laughing about something and pushing each other, "Oh, there you are 'Mione, you haven't been here long, have you?" Harry pushed his glasses back up on his nose as he gave her a lazy smile.

Shaking her head and pushing the strap further onto her shoulder, she looped her arms with the two before towing them toward the back of the store, where she knew her favorite sugar quills were.

Mrs. Flume came round the counter toward the trio, "Sorry, love, someone just came in and bought the whole lot. I tried to stop them from it and save you a few, but he paid extra for them."

Hermione stared at the space where her normal Sugar Quills were and gave a shrug, "It's fine, Mrs. Flume, you can't deny business. Thank you anyway. When will you be getting your next shipment?"

"Next weekend, I'll save some in the back for you that way; the same young man doesn't repurchase them all. Can't deny my favorite customer two weeks in a row." She smiled, patting her back before rushing back off toward the counter to check out a couple of fourth years.

"Well, that's that then. Are you two ready to head over to Three Broomsticks?" Both boys shrugged their shoulders, having spent probably all their money at the quidditch shop beforehand.

As the trio walked into the pub, Harry ordered their food and drinks as Hermione and Ron found a table in the front near one of the windows that looked out at the main street.

"What are those two doing here?" Ron sneered, jabbing a finger toward a back booth; she peeked over her shoulder to find her two least favorite Slytherins already staring at her, "And why are they glaring at us?"

Dusting the crumbs off the table that was left by the previous people, Hermione sighed loudly, "Honestly, Ronald, they are humans. They are allowed to eat and drink where ever they want." Glancing over her shoulder again to see they were, indeed, still looking at her, she rolled her eyes at them, saying loudly as they could hear her, "They are also allowed to look wherever they want even if it's rude," Both of their eyes snapped off of her and back to the food they were eating.

"What did I miss?" Harry happily said as he slid into the seat next to Ron and placing the drinks in the middle of the table, "Food should be ready in a minute."

Ron grumbled something about being hungry before laying his arms on the table, "The Malfoy git and his boyfriend won't stop looking over here. It is annoying."

Harry scrunched his eyebrows, looking behind Hermione at Theo and Draco, "Oh, well... I don't think Theo is his boyfriend, and I'm pretty sure I saw Draco and Pansy snogging a couple of days ago outside of the Great Hall-"

Hermione giggled into her arm, feeling lighter than she has all week, "Harry, he didn't mean it literally. I'm pretty positive Theo is as straight as they get as he keeps hitting on me, kind of creepy if I'm honest." LIAR, her brain screamed at her.

"Oh." He blushed, looking away from her as their food appeared on the table in front of them. "Anyway," He cleared his throat, taking a sip of his butterbeer, "Are you going to come to the game tomorrow, Hermione?"

Dipping one of her chips into the ketchup sitting in the middle of the table for them to share, she shook her head, "No, I have an Astronomy project due Tuesday, and I need to iron out some more details; before I can turn it in."

They both nodded their heads, not surprised in the least that Hermione wasn't going to their game; she seldom did. She preferred to stay indoors where it was warmer.

They all sat in silence eating their food before Harry tossed out, "So who do you think bought all of the sugar quills?"

She groaned, taking a long sip of her drink, "I don't know, but whoever they are, better hope I don't find out least I hex them into next week."


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday found Hermione in the library as it had every Sunday since second year. Seeing Harry fall off of his broom and nearly die two years in a row put a damper on the sport for her. Regardless, she would rather be inside where it was warmer than in the high stands where sometimes even the strongest warming charm didn't help.

After the third time of being interrupted in her spare, quiet time, she should be quite used to Theo, but as she felt the hair on her arms start to rise, she could only be even more annoyed. "Yes, Nott, what do you want this time?" She spat out without even taking her eyes off of her astronomy essay she was still tweaking.

"How did you even know it was me?" Theo rounded the table's corner, sitting in the chair across from Hermione, leaning back and placing his arms behind his head. Obviously, he was not here to study.

Sighing deeply, Hermione placed her quill down, folding her hands in front of her and giving the Slytherin a cold glare, "Because Nott, you seem to be stalking me. Does this still have to do with your idea of Draco and me? I am quite busy, and you seem like you are going to be no help."

Gasping softly, he placed one of his hands over his heart dramatically, snorting to herself very Slytherin of him no wonder he and Draco were best friends, "Can't I just be here for you, Kitten, for myself?"

"Please don't call me that as if we are friends, Theodore. Now, if you don't mind..."

Shifting so he was leaning over the table toward Hermione, he spoke softly, "Can we start over? I know I've been a little weird the last couple of days, and I apologize immensely for my actions. Besides, I brought a peace offering."

Raising an arched eyebrow at the green-eyed child Hermione finally closed her book; there was no way she would be able to continue to work because Theo hardly seemed like he was finished with this conversation. "You have my interest, but make it quick-"

"Yes, yes, I know you are busy, Hermione." Reaching down into the satchel, Hermione didn't even notice he was carrying; he pulled out a bag and gently pushed it toward her, "And if we are going to be friends, please call me Theo."

Casting one final glance at him, she diverted her attention to the bag that was pushing into her closed book. "You." She grounded out, "You're the one that bought all of my sugar quills?"

"Now wait, they weren't yours to buy. I just happened to remember that you quite like this certain flavor..."

Just now, noticing that not only was the bag full of the sugary goodness, but it was also all in her favorite flavor. "How did you even know? I'm pretty sure not even Harry pays attention to which ones I actually like. He usually buys me a whole box of the original flavor for Christmas."

Nervously Theo fidgeted in his seat, looking anywhere but at the Gryffindor, "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, Hermione."

"Try me." Slowly pulling one of the quills from the bag and unwrapping it, she sat back in her chair, watching as Theo's face slowly started to flush red. "You've already distracted me from my work, Theo; you may as well make it worth my time."

"Fine, okay. What do you know about alternate timelines?"

Now, this seems interesting. She leaned forward, now giving the boy her full attention, "Outside of books? Not much. Even in books, not much. There hasn't really been much research on the topic; much like Time Travel, it is tough to pinpoint."

"Right, er... Well, hypothetically speaking, do you think it could be real?"

Pulling the sugar quill from her lips with an audible pop, she replied, "Well, magic is real, so hypothetically anything can be real, right? It's hard to believe if we can conjure up water out of thin air that there isn't more to this world than what meets the eye," Shrugging her shoulders, "You know, aliens." She joked, wiggling her fingers in front of her—very muggle thing to say, every summer her father brought up the topic of what-ifs. Magic is real, so why wouldn't little green men in space be as well?

"Aliens? You know what, I'm not even going to ask," He mumbled quietly to himself. "Okay, so hypothetically I am from another timeline. Ugh," Rubbing his head and leaning back in his seat again, "This hypothetically talking is making my head hurt. Let us say I am from another timeline; in that timeline, Granger, you, and I are friends. Best of friends, you would even say, why I don't know because you are the Gryffindor princess. I am just Malfoy's sidekick," scoffing to himself like it was an inside joke, "Either way, I know these things about you because since the third year you and Malfoy have been together, er, well I think so. Off and on, maybe?"

Theo was right; this hypothetical talk was making her head hurt as well, "The third year? Do you mean when I slapped that stupid little smirk off of his pointy little face? Yeah, he fell oh so in love with the Mudblood for that one." Shaking her head and angrily pushing her stuff into her bag, not even caring that it wasn't organized, "Look, Nott, this hypothetical talk has been entertaining, but as I said, I'm busy. Just tell Malfoy to leave it; you aren't going to get any raise out of me this year; I'm trying to focus on my N.E.W.T.s and, you know, actually do something with my life."

"What if I can tell you who's gonna be taken next?"

Coming to a stop at the end of the bookshelf, she twirled on her heels, "Taken? No one has been taken. No one is missing. Greengrass is just with family, and Terry is probably with his girlfriend. Like I told Harry and Ron, they'll turn up Monday for class."

"But they won't. None of them will, and I know where they are going." Suddenly Theo was jumping from his seat, rushing to Hermione while somehow still looking graceful. How was that fair that men as tall as him made anything look graceful? He could probably fall off a broom and make it graceful. "I can't do it alone, Hermione; I need you. And Draco."

Sneering her lip up as he gripped her elbow for what felt like the thousandth time in three days, she snipped, "Honestly, Theodore, you are just being crazy. Everything is fine. Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey."

Snatching her arm to leave again, Theo called out, "Parvati Patil."

Rolling her eyes and ignoring him seemed to be the only way out of this conversation, so she did just that and made her way from the library back to the Gryffindor tower. Why on earth does Theo think people are being taken? Two, not, missing students didn't make for such accusations. What did this have anything to do with alternate timelines?

But still, she couldn't shake the feeling that at least some of what Theo was saying was true, and if that were the case, she was going to be keeping a close eye on her housemate.

— —

Slow clapping startled him from gripping his hair, "Well done, Theodore, you scared the only person away that would have actually believed you. What was your plan there? To spill all your secrets and have her jump on board?"

Sneering at the blonde heir, he snatched up his satchel, tossing it over his shoulder, "Piss off mate, I don't want to hear it from you again."

Draco's arm shot out, stopping Theo from his quick exit, "Wait, Nott... let's just say I believe you." Chuckling to himself while perking an eyebrow up at him, "hypothetically."

"Yeah, and what made you change your tune all of a sudden?"

A slight red tint spread across the otherwise pale of his cheeks, "What you said about Granger-"

"So you do-"

"Aht-" Draco tutted, shaking a finger toward him, "What you said about Granger and I, about the third year when she slapped me? In your timeline she and I have been together since then?"

Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, Theo shrugged, "Something like that, I guess. Every once and a while, you two would fight and wouldn't talk for a couple of days, but the next thing, you were all over each other. It was quite gross if I'm honest."

"Well, here's the thing, Theodore, I know for certain I have never told a soul this, but as it turns out, I sort of maybe, well, I don't know..." He started strong, but by the end of his sentence, he started stuttering.

Grinning ear to ear, Theo slapped the blushing Slytherin on his back, "Aw, don't tell me you fancy dear Granger."

"Shove off, Nott." Clearing his throat and slightly straighten his tie, "Maybe I did- or do- I don't even know anymore. But considering I never told anyone, not even my own mother, I don't think someone as pea-brained as you could have made something like that up."

"Oi!"

"Full offense. Either way, maybe I believe you, Theo. But one thing is for certain- Daphne isn't just missing; she's completely disappeared."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of really love this chapter because Theo is such a smart ass in it, and Theo is baby.


	5. Chapter 5

Come Wednesday afternoon, neither student had returned to school, officially, making them missing. The Minister of Magic had insisted that everything was fine, and after two days of canceled classes, they resumed. Grumbling to herself about how she wasted time Monday night rushing to finish her essay for Astronomy due Tuesday, Hermione hadn't realized she was late for breakfast.

Rounding the corner for the great hall, she threw her hands up, glaring at the tables just as the food disappeared, "For Godrics sake," Of course, if only she were just a couple of seconds earlier, she could have easily grabbed a muffin off the end of the table. Ranting to herself about having the last two days off from classes, which made her late, she slipped into Charms class, and as luck would have it, the only open seat left was right beside Malfoy.

Cursing every single god or goddess she could think of, she slumped into the seat beside him, only then noticing the muffin sitting on the tabletop, "Oh, sorry, was someone sitting here?"

Waving her off, Malfoy continued to flip through the book in front of him, "No, Granger, it's for you." Squeezing her eyebrows together, casting her gaze back and forth between the muffin and the blonde, she made no moves toward it. "For Salazer Sake, it's not poison." He huffed, reaching over and pinching a piece of the muffin between his thumb and forefinger before slowly- and quite dramatically might she add, moving it into his mouth. Naturally, her eyes followed the movement watching as he stuck the muffin on his tongue, sucking his forefinger between his lips before removing it with a soft pop. "See?"

He smirked, noticing her line of sight was steadily on his lips. Snatching her eyes from the growing smirk, heat flooded her body, and she glared back toward the muffin. It's not that she thought he had poisoned it. Who in their right mind would waste a breakfast item on such. It was more so the fact that he brought it for her. "I can see the gears moving in that thick head of yours Granger, don't let your thoughts roam; it was all Theo. He noticed you were missing from breakfast and thought you might like something, and seeing how I share first class with you. He made me bring it."

Flushing again and choosing not to say anything in fear she might say something utterly stupid, she nodded her head, wrapping the blueberry muffin back up and pushing it to the side. Why on earth would she think Malfoy would notice something as benign as her not being at breakfast was beyond her.

Just as Hermione was setting out her book, Professor Flitwick shuffled into the room, "Right, good morning, class! I am not going to waste any of your time this morning, so if you would please turn to the person to your right and say hello to your partner for the next two months." Groaning and all but slamming her head on the desk below her, luck was a son of a bitch.

Glaring at Malfoy out of the corner of her eye, of course, to her right. "Lucky me," Said said lowly to herself. Apparently not low enough as Malfoy chuckled then tried to cover it with a loud cough.

Flitwick, glancing at Malfoy, removed his wand from his robe sleeve and turned toward the board, "I know it is your last year as my students, so I will make this project as fun as I can. You and your partner will be creating a hypothetical spell that would help in everyday moments. In the first week of December, you will present your spells to the class. Those of you who wish to get extra credit, you may choose a third."

From the corner of her eye, she could see Malfoy scribbling on a piece of parchment before sliding it toward her; Library before lunch, and yes, Granger, we can pick a third spell.

Of all days to be late.

——

As refreshing as it was to see that Draco was just as ready to start the two-month-long project, Hermione had slightly wished they could at least wait until the end of the day. The muffin that Draco had brought to class only did so much for the hunger that she had felt all morning.

Searching down the stacks in the library for Draco, her eyes finally landed on him at a table near the back where she often liked to study. Students normally didn't wander this far into the library, so it was usually quiet. "Sorry, I'm late."

Draco merely glanced at her before returning his eyes to the parchment in front of him, "S'fine, I started on an essay while waiting. I've already gathered some books if you want to take a look at some while I finish this."

Nodding, before realizing that he couldn't even see her response, she placed her bag down in the chair beside her before flipping through the couple of books he had laying out. "How did you know I would want to pick a third charm?"

"Granger, you're top of the class. Of course, you would want to pick a third charm even weaslebee could figure that out."

Ignoring his jab at Ron- which seemed to be second nature to the blonde, Hermione set about making a list of the couple of Charms that seems to interest her; from there, they could branch off and make their own by either combining the spells or using the framework.

Just as she picked out the 8th spell, a bag was tossed down on the table between her and Malfoy, "Ah, there you two are, glad to see you're finally working together." Theo settled down into the seat beside Malfoy, knocking his elbow into his side, earning a glare from him.

"Piss off, Nott. We have actual work to do, and you aren't going to be of any help."

Raising his hands, Theo glanced from Draco back toward Hermione, "Touchy today isn't he?"

"Isn't he always?" Suppressing a giggle in the crook of her elbow, she sat down her quill, grasping her hands together in front of her, "Thanks for the muffin this morning, Theo; that was very kind of you. As it happens, I slept in a little this morning. Thanks to classes being canceled the last two days, I got out of routine."

Out of her peripheral, she saw Draco glancing at Theo, slightly shaking his head. "Oh, uh... yeah," Clearing his throat slightly, Theo continued, "You know me... Always thinking ahead. Er... Anyway. Has the Terry kid shown up yet?"

Rolling her eyes, nice way to change the subject, Theodore. Deciding to drop it, Hermione replied, "No, not yet. Between us, the minister has officially considering Terry and Daphne missing. No one has heard anything from either of them since Friday, at the very least. The Minister has decided to put Auror Black on it. They don't know if it's anything serious yet, but they would rather be safe than sorry and seeing how Sirius is one of the best Auror's..."

At this, Draco snorted. He was never very fond of his distant cousin, more so now that he was officially Harry's guardian. "Of course, the boy wonders daddy is on the case. What's next, Potter and Weasel going to become Junior Auror's?"

Stopping herself from rolling her eyes again, lest they get stuck in the back of her head like her mother always said. "Get over yourself, Malfoy. Sirius does amazing work, and he's actually projected to be the new Head once Shacklebolt retires."

Sensing the tension that was starting to rise between the two, Theo quipped, "Right, so anyway. If Harry's Godfather is on the case, does that mean scar head can get some inside info? It would really help us in the long run if we can get some clues right off the start."

"We?" Hermione and Draco replied in unison before Draco continued, "How many times do I have to tell you, Nott? Hermione and I are not some detective team that is going to crack this made-up case of yours. Just drop it already."

Quirking her eyebrow up, she glanced between the two. So apparently, Theo wasn't just spinning this random story on her but also his Slytherin housemate, who, by the looks of it, seemed way more annoyed by it than her.

"Why won't you just shut up and listen to me? Everything I've told you has been true so far, Malfoy."

"Wait a second-, " Hermione interrupted the soon-to-be argument, "You mean to tell me, you've been getting onto the both of us over some fever dream you've probably had?"

Raising his hand and thrusting it toward Hermione in a 'SEE?' Motion, "A fever dream! I told you- wait, you mean he's been spilling this shite to you too?" If Hermione hadn't been paying attention to the blonde, she wouldn't have noticed the slight red tint flare up his neck fanning across his cheeks, "Please don't tell me you've told her everything."

"You mean like the fact that he thinks we are together? Mental." The tint on his checks only grew deeper. "I'm sure all of this will be straighten out come this weekend." Seeing the tension spread between the two, Hermione took this as a cue to leave, "Look, Malfoy, I'm free tomorrow after dinner if you want to pick this back up then. Here is a list of a couple of charms that seem interesting pick out a few, and we will discuss it then."

As Hermione left the two, who immediately started to whisper to each other, she couldn't help but feel a nagging sense of something forming low in her stomach.

"Mione, there you are." Giving up on not rolling her eyes, she turned to find a flush-faced Ron Weasley strutting up to her, "You haven't seen Parvati have you? She and I were supposed to study this block, and I-"

Since when did Ronald Weasley study? "Patil?"

Face flushing even more, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, of course, Parvati Patil, who else would I be talking about?" As his words finally washed over her, a cold dread settled in her bones. He couldn't be right, could he?

— —

"Look, mate, I only told her because you wouldn't believe me. She was always the more level-headed one, so I don't understand why you are so hot about this."

Draco's face only got more red at this sentence, "I'm not getting hot over this. I just-" Rubbing his hand down his face, he continued, "Why did you have to tell her about us being together? I've already told you I believe you, but couldn't you leave that out? It's already embarrassing enough that I fancy her-"

"So I was right!" Dragging Theo back down to his seat, Draco glanced around, making sure no one heard his outburst, "Alright, alright, fine. So I could have left it out. But I thought for sure she wouldn't think I was making it up if I told her about you two. What crazy person would make up something as blasted as the two of you together?"

Sneering, he shook his head, "You've made a point, Theodore. Drop it." He wasn't wrong in the sense. Just look back at their first three years of knowing each other; every time he would see Granger, he would spit out the word Mudblood, but after that slap in the third year, he knew the word had no meaning, and he hadn't said it since. If he were far superior to the girl, how was it that she beat him in nearly every subject for their entire Hogwarts career? The only thing Draco seemed to be better at was flying and maybe insults but years of being insulted by his father seemed to teach him a thing or two.

"The point is," Theo started, "The sooner I get you two together-" Raising his hands as Draco sent him another heated glare, "The sooner it's all over with, and you won't have to speak again if that's truly what you want." Wiggling his eyebrows and pasting a stupid smile to his face.

"Theo-"

"Nott." 

Both jumping at the loud interruption, they turned to find Granger storming back toward their table, slamming her hand on the tabletop. "Fine. Say I believe you, then what?"

Both of their eyes widen at the sudden outburst; no way in hell, Granger actually believed him; Hell, Draco barely believed him.

Grinning toward Draco, then standing up, leaning over the table toward her, Theo spoke lowly, "Then we save the world, Granger."

Always the dramatics.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get a little... heated in this chapter small fluff.

"Always with the dramatics Theodore," Shaking her head and holding her hand up to stop Theo from whatever was about to leave his mouth, she started, "Look, we can't talk here if this is what I think it is; it could be dangerous for the wrong ears to hear. Do you two know where the room of requirements is?" Both Slytherins shook their heads no. Of course, this wasn't going to be easy. "Right, why would you?" She mumbled under her breath, "Meet me on the landing of the seventh floor, beside the tapestry of the fat frier- you do know where that is?"

Both boys nodding in unison, the three agreed to meet on the landing of the 7th floor. DADA was Hermione's last class on the day that fortunately was held on the third floor, so directly after, she made a short stop at her Head girl dorm shared with Ernie Macmillan to drop off her bag. Politely declining to study with the head boy Hermione slipped from the shared common room and made her long trek up to the seventh floor.

By the time she had made it, both Slytherin boys were waiting, seeming to have stopped by their own common room to drop off their school bags, "Bout time, Granger. Now, why did you make us climb all the way to the top of the bloody castle." Malfoy seemed more agitated than normal.

Ignoring the snippy attitude, Hermione gestured with her head for the two boys to follow her down a hallway to the left. Once around the corner and away from prying eyes, she turned toward them, casting a disillusion spell on the triad. "You can never be too safe." She muttered before turning toward the seemly blank wall. Closing her eyes and shelving all of her thoughts, she turned and started to pace. Back and forth. Three times. Just like Harry taught her. As she opened her eyes by the last pace, a door formed right in the middle of the wall. "Well, after you boys," She swept her hands toward it.

Seemingly shocked, Theo was the first to step forward, gripping the handle and pushing the door forward. While Hermione had been thinking about nothing other than a quiet, secluded room, she was surprised that the room offered them what basically looked like a small library, and in the middle sat a worn, comfortable-looking leather couch big enough for the three of them.

As the door shut silently behind them, Hermione took the lead, sitting down onto the couch to find that, yes, indeed, it was just as comfortable as it looked.

"Right, I guess it's all me then," Theo started before taking a seat close enough to Hermione she could feel his body heat radiating off of him; it took everything in her not to lean in. Draco seemed a little wiry as he only began to pace in front of the table just in front of the couch.

"Okay, so... Hermione, I already asked you the hypotheticals on this, but it's not that." Sighing heavily, Theo ran his hand through his hair before dragging his hand down his face, leaving curls lying across his forehead. "I don't even know where to start. So as far as I can tell, I'm obviously not the Theo from this timeline, seeing how you and I are hardly friends and Draco and me-" He cut himself off, glancing at the blonde who only stuttered his pace before dropping onto the table. "We are friends, yes. Anyway, so in my timeline, there is a war. I'm not sure if you are familiar with him, but Lord Voldemort was reigning high."

"Voldemort? You mean, you know... the one who killed Harry's parents?"

"The very one."

"But he's dead. Well, he has to be. After Harry unknowingly killed whatever part of him that was living within Professor Quirell, but he hasn't been heard of since."

"Correct again, Miss. Granger, ten points to Gryffindor. Unfortunately, in my timeline, he returned in full form in my Fourth year; near the end of 95', he returned by killing a Hufflepuff, according to Potter. After that, his power only grew; a year later, he broke out a bunch of his followers from Azkaban- including your aunt Draco, Bellatrix."

"Crazy old bint," She heard him mutter.

"Anyway, between Bellatrix and the handful of other Deatheaters he broke out, he started growing his army. That same year there was a small battle at the DOM. Something called the Order I'm not one hundred percent. I know you and Potter were there, maybe even the weasel; all I know is it didn't end well for your side. You lost black; funnily enough, it was your aunt who killed him, Draco.

"After that, things started to heat up, Voldemort was getting stronger and stronger. I'm not sure what your side did, but our side... well, let's say he and old Lucy were rather close. Draco made some pretty bad choices, and I..." Glancing up at him, Theo's cheeks turned red before his eyes shifted back toward his hands, which were gripping tightly at the pillow in his lap. "I followed."

"Don't tell me I followed in dear old father's footsteps?" Draco's face paled. It was rumored long ago that his father was a strong supporter of Voldemort's ideals, which is why Draco hates Hermione, filthy blood and all. It seems fitting that Draco would turn out just like his father. He was a boy with no right choices laid out in front of him, it seemed.

"For lack of better terms. You were the second youngest Death Eater in history. From what you told me, it was forced. You or your mother, you had said." Shaking his head and glancing off, Theo looked far away.

If he were as close to Draco as he was making it seem, Theo probably saw the worst of it, and Hermione could only imagine how much damage that could do to him mentally.

"He forced the Dark Mark on you and gave you an ultimatum; kill Dumbledore, or he killed your mother."

"WHAT?" Hermione shirked, jumping to her feet as she began to pace, "You can't be serious. No one in their right mind would threaten Dumbledore. He's the greatest wizard to live; well, if you don't include Merlin- that doesn't make sense? Are you sure that was what he was tasked with?"

Draco's face seemed to get somehow only paler as if he was in the shoes of this other Draco. "Please don't tell me I did it..." Theo only looked away, "Merlin..."

"I tried to get him to stop. I tried to help you, Draco, find a way out for you. I knew what it was doing to you. He was killing you." Tears seemed to fill Theo's vision at the thought, "I couldn't just sit back and watch you die. I knew it was an impossible task, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He was vile. I took the mark..."

A soft gasp left Hermione's lips as her own vision started to blur from tears. Seeing how much Theo cared for this other timeline, Draco weighed her heart. She understood why he did it. She would do the same for Harry if it truly came down to it.

"He wouldn't stop... After Dumbledore died, death eaters took over the school." Hermione returned to her spot beside Theo, placing her own hand atop his, which were still ringing the edge of the pillow. His body visibly shudders before slightly leaning toward her, "You, Potter, and Weasley disappeared after that; I never found out where you went. It bothers me that you didn't tell me. Right before my seventh year started, I confronted the Dark Lord. I begged him to let you go, Draco; he was still tasking you with so much I saw it in your eyes you could only last so much longer..." His hand released the pillow before gripping Hermiones instead, "I don't remember what happened. The next thing I knew, I was here, waking up in my bed in Slytherin."

Brushing a tear that was slowly falling from her eyes, she squeezed his hand before replying, "I am so sorry that you had to go through that Theo, I can only imagine how terrifying that had to be for you... but, what does this have to do with Draco and I? And the missing students?"

"I think they are being taken for his army." Shifting uncomfortably, he removed his hand from hers, turning toward Draco. "The last thing I remember before being here was a small battle. He lost many people; I think that's why he was so angry with me when I confronted him, why he- Anyway, before you left Hermione, you and I were finding out ways to take him down. We all were before Draco got marked."

"So Draco and I-"

"Yes, Granger, you were actually together. I wasn't making that up to sway you into believing me. It happened the Third year; apparently, you have a mean right hook, and Drake here couldn't stay away,"

"Piss off,"

"Anyway, Draco overheard his father Fourth-year about the dark lords return, and confined in me, which I, in turn, told you. We all started working together. We were trying to find a way to keep you safe Hermione, I think Draco was in love at this point," Both Hermione and Draco flushed red, "After he fully returned, Potter started having visions through him. Once you told us, we all started working together," He chuckled to himself, "Believe it or not, we all made quite a team."

"Alright, a cute little story about Granger and I, but how does that help us here? Now? There is no Voldemort."

Shaking his finger at the blonde, Theo stood and started walking around the table edge, "That's where I'm stuck. I know in my Timeline classmates started disappearing from school just the same but would turn up in Voldemort's army. They were being imperiused to fight; which, is what I can only assume is happening here. But seeing how there is no Voldemort as Draco said, I think they are being brought to my timeline."

Hermione's brain was slowly starting to piece together everything, but one thing was still bothering her, "But, why did you get sent here?"

"I- uh, I don't know." He shifted again, leaning against a bookcase that was beside the light fireplace. "I don't know how to get them back, but I just have a gut feeling it has to do with the two of you."

Draco snorted, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Gut feelings get you nowhere, mate. All of this is making my head hurt. I'm heading back to the common room. I need a fucking nap." Stalking off toward the door without a backward glance, Draco left.

"That went well."

"I'll say," Hermione chuckled, stretching out on the couch before patting the seat beside her, "Can I ask you something, Theo?" Glancing nervously around the room, Theo nodded his head, taking the seat Hermione offered back to him. "The way you were talking about Draco, from your timeline, it seemed like something else... something, more?"

"Go ahead, Golden girl, you know the answer." He chuckled as if it was an inside joke, which only made Hermione's cheeks flush red.

"But you said Draco and I-?" Raising his eyebrows at her, silently telling her to go on, "But you and Draco-?"

Shaking his head at the fact that she still wasn't catching up, "You and Draco were together, yes and sickly in love might I add, but yes Draco and I were together as well; the war saw to that."

"So Draco-"

"Did not cheat on you. I'm not saying anymore, Hermione; you'll have to figure this one out on your own. You are smart." Standing from the couch, Theo made his way toward the door, "Goodnight, Kitten." Sending a smile as he turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Hermione alone.

Just how close were she and Theo in this other timeline?

— —

Theo returned to the Slytherin common room to find Draco pacing the length of the coffee table. As he heard the door softly closed, he turned toward Theo, nostrils flaring, "What the fuck was that?"

Coming to a complete stop, Theo turned to look at the blonde heir, "I really don't know what you mean, Draco." Shaking his head and trying to ignore him, he walked past him, slightly brushing their shoulders. 

Snatching his arm as he passed, Draco turned Theo back to face him. "I mean, you saying I became a death eater, and you- you, saying you became one because of me?"

Shrugging his grip from his arm, Theo turned back toward the stairs toward their shared room, "I only said what was true, sorry it wasn't to your liking, your highness." He sneered, hoping he would drop the conversation, but of course, that would be all too easy. "I thought you said you needed to take a nap. You are awful cranky."

"Don't you dare get that tone with me, Theodore. You know how serious this is-" Theo turned abruptly, not realizing how close the other boy was behind him. "Don't go running away now. This is your circus."

"Fuck you, Draco." He spat out, leaning closer to him. Where Theo made up in muscle, Draco was taller, causing him to slightly tilt his head up to come eye to eye with him. The angry look in Draco's eyes only caused the pit in his stomach to deepen, and before he knew it, he was gripping the back of his neck, carding his hands through the soft blonde hair at the base of his neck and yanking him forward.

It took less than a second for their lips to meet; the kiss was heated. They battle for dominance, Theo only slightly winning as his tongue slipped past the barrier of his lips. Draco suddenly sucked in air as their tongues finally met, continuing the battle. Theo could feel him slipping away, so he pushed his body closer to him, grinding him backward into the wall. The coil lower in his stomach only got tighter as he felt Draco's arms slowly stroke up his chest before stopping on his shoulders. This felt normal. This was it. 

Before he knew it, Draco was pushing him away hard, retching their lips apart and panting hard, "What the fuck," He whispered harshly before rubbing his sleeve across his mouth and stepping away from him. "I-" and suddenly, he was gone.

All at once, Theo's vision started to blur as he stared unblinking at the wall Draco was just pushed against; oh gods, he fucked up.

Gathering himself, he pushed himself through the common room, just wanting to get away from this thick air that clogged his throat, and before he knew it, he was in front of an all too familiar portrait. Of course, his subconscious would bring him here. Swallowing his pride, Theo knocked heavily on the door. If she weren't here, he would have to suck it up and return to the Slytherin common room. Thankfully the door swung open, revealing a disheveled Hermione sans shoes.

"I did something stupid." Hermione started to laugh to herself, but one look at him, and she sobered up quickly; she swung the door open wider, allowing him inside of the room. "Dracohatesme," He said quickly as he threw himself face down onto her couch.

"You're going to have to use your words, Theodore." He could feel her hand lighting creating circles on his back, very soothing, just as she did in his timeline. Squeezing his eyes shut at the thought, he turned his face toward her.

"I did something stupid, and now Draco hates me."

She signed heavily, placing her hands back in her own lap; oh how he wished she would continue to soothe him, "As much as I would love to, Theo, I cannot read your mind. You're going to have to tell me what happened."

"I kissed him," He cringed as he heard her suck in a deep breath, knowing what was coming next.

"YOU DID WHAT?! THEODORE NOTT!"

Jerking himself into a sitting position, Theo glared at the wall behind Hermione, arms crossed. "I know, I know. It was fucking stupid, but it was- I don't know the heat of the moment? We were fighting about what I told the both of you, about him being a death eater in my timeline and how I became one for him basically, and next thing I know, we are eating each other's face." Hermione's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, "The crazy thing is, he didn't push me away. At least, not at first." 

Balling his fists up and pushing them into his eyes, he heard her sigh again, "Well, what did he say after?"

Fighting the urge to throw up, he settled for throwing his hands up in the air, "UGH! Nothing! That's the thing; he pulled away first stared at me before taking off to his room. I don't know what happened! I don't want to go back to our room. I know it will be awkward-"

"Stay here," He peaked his eyes open, staring at the Gryffindor who looked like she was internally struggling with something, "The couch is actually quite comfortable; I've fallen asleep on it far too often. I have some spare blankets in my room, as well, that you could use.

He grinned at her sheepishly, bringing his hands back down and placing one on the back of his neck, "You wouldn't mind terribly? Won't Ernie get mad that I am here?"

Waving him off, she started down the hall toward what he can only assume was her room before returning with a red and gold quilt and pillow. "Ernie can get over it," She stated while settling onto the arm of the couch, "Besides, he hasn't come back from dinner, so he's probably studying in the library; when he returns, he'll be too tired even to notice."

"Thanks, Kitten, you really are the best." Before even realizing what he was doing, he leaned over, placing a soft kiss on top of her curls, breathing in the soft scent of mint that probably lingered from her shampoo.

"Right, well... I think I'm going to head off to bed. If you need anything, my room is down the hall on the right. The bathroom is right at the end of the hall. There is also water in the kitchen. Uh- well, goodnight." 

He chuckled to himself quietly, saying goodnight after her, doubting that he would have even heard him. Hearing one of the doors down the hallway slam shut, he folded himself onto the couch, and true to Hermione's words, it was rather comfortable. 

Shortly after hearing the door close, he could hear the start of a shower. Shaking his head, he settled into his makeshift bed for the night, breathing in deeply to find that the blanket she had left him smelled of her mint shampoo, which instantly calmed him.

Putting all thoughts aside of the pompous blonde, Theo settled into a relaxing sleep filled with honey brown eyes and curls.


	7. Chapter 7

When Hermione woke the next morning, she felt the most rested she had in months. Telling herself, it was everything to do with the stress of the last couple of days that finally tired her out and not the curly-headed Slytherin sleeping on her couch.

When she arrived in the shared common room, she took notice of the blankets neatly folded on the edge of the couch and Theodore Nott standing in her kitchenette looking right at home- and humming. How was it fair that he could be so chirpy this early in the morning? Glancing at the clock hanging above the fireplace, she noticed it was barely 6 AM, far too early for any sane person to be awake.

“OH! You’re awake!” Theo turned on his heels, leaning casually against the counter with a cup of water in his hand, “I went down to the kitchens early and grabbed some breakfast, just in case you were a little late waking up this morning.”

Eyes shifting from the bubbly guest to the small breakfast nook laid out with scones and muffins, Hermione shuffled to take a seat, “That’s very nice of you, Theodore….” She drawled out, mouth already watering at the thought of food. Skipping breakfast yesterday really threw off her appetite the rest of the day, causing her to be very picky at lunch and dinner. “Did Ernie wake you when he came in last night?”

Glancing over the top of the muffin she was buttering. She noticed Theo stiffen slightly, setting his cup down and joining her at the table, “Not exactly…”

“Theo…” She warned.

Smiling shyly at the Gryffindor, Theo took his own muffin before picking at it absentmindedly, “Everything happened so fast last night with Draco and me showing up here… I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” She gulped, setting her muffin down, suddenly losing what little appetite she had. “Theodore, we could have stopped this. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Face draining color, he leaned back in his seat, eyes setting into space just past Hermione's shoulder, “I didn’t know, Hermione, as I said, it’s happening so fast. In my timeline, people weren’t being taken like this. Maybe two a week, but it’s been almost a week here, and already four people are missing.”

Slowly Hermione paced the small kitchen, listing the people's names thus far; Daphne Greengrass, Terry Boot, Parvati Patil, and now head boy Ernie Macmillan.

“There has to be a way to stop this, right? A balance or something. I can’t stand the thought of my friends being somewhere so dark. Could they even still be alive? What if he’s bringing them there to torture them for information about Harry. We need to start researching ways to return them. I can’t just sit back and do nothing-“

Sudden Theo was in her line of pacing, gently taking her small hands in his. Rubbing his thumb across the back in a manner that seemed all too familiar with him, it slowly started to calm her from her impending panic attack, “Kitten… Just breath. We will figure this out even if I need to step back and let you and Draco work together. We will bring them back, I promise.”

“Merlin, sake. Malfoy.” Groaning to herself and remembering just why Theo was here, “How are we meant to work together if he won’t even talk to you, let alone me? Surely you and I can work together on this, right?”

Shaking his head, “I don’t think it’s going to work that way.”

Hermione turned toward the kitchen sink, leaning forward and breathing deeply, still trying to calm herself, “Well, Ernie isn’t here- which sounds horrible, but maybe it’s a good thing? For now, at least. We can have someplace quiet to research without having to worry about prying eyes. You can stay here as well, so you don’t have to be awkward around Malfoy.”

“Well…”

— —

“DRACO MALFOY?” Hermione screeched at the older witch; she had to be out of her bloody mind. “You can’t be serious? Surely there is someone else to take the Head Boy position, Harry maybe? He and I cannot work together.”

Professor McGonagall looked taken aback by the sudden outburst from Hermione. She never once in all of her time at Hogwarts could recall raising her voice at the Gryffindor head of house. Feeling slightly guilty, Hermione sat back in her chair in front of the Professors desk picking at the worn thread in her sweater.

“While Mr. Malfoy is not my first choice Miss. Granger, I can assure you my hands are tied. The final decision came from Head Master Dumbledore, and it was not one that was made lightly. I know you disagree with Mr. Malfoy, but he is a bright young man, and being Slytherin prefect the last two years proves that he is very capable of following the rules.

“I need not remind you that your shared head common room privileges shall not be taken lightly. You are allowed guests in your common room, but they should not be allowed to spend the night,” She gave her a knowing look at her last comment, “Least of all in your private bedrooms.”

Blushing slightly, Hermione leaned forward in her seat, “How do you know Ernie is gone? You can’t replace him right away. It hasn’t even been a day. Maybe he’s just gone home.”

“Well, that would be the case, Miss. Granger had we not received an owl from Mr. MacMillan's parents this morning, notifying us of his absence. It seems the Macmillans are moving, and Ernie will be transferring to Ilvermorny; I am sorry, but that is all I can disclose to you, Miss. Granger.” Standing from her desk and swishing her wand toward the door, the older witch laid her hand on Hermione's shoulder comfortingly, “I am sure you have a class this morning; you best be on your way. You wouldn’t want to be late.”

Nodding her head at the Professor, Hermione slipped from her seat, trying to wrap her mind around the information that was just given to her. Theo had told her just 20 minutes ago that Erine was Taken, so why was a letter sent saying otherwise?

While overthinking the conversation, she hadn’t realized she made it all the way back to her Head student dorm, and as she closed the door to the common room, she noticed a trunk placed by the couch with the initials D.M.

Glaring at the trunk, Hermione slightly kicked at it before jumping out of her skin as Malfoy entered the room, “Now, what has my trunk done to you, Granger?” He flicked his wand, lifting his trunk in the air away from Hermione and toward the room that was once Erines. “I’m not any happier than you are at this arrangement, but for the sake of staying sane, can we just agree to be cordial with each other?”

Choosing to ignore him, Hermione lifted her chin to the new head boy and stalked back to her room. Once the door was firmly closed and a silencing charm placed, Hermione stomped over to her desk, ripping out a piece of parchment and quill and sitting down.

Here was what she knew:

Four students were missing- or taken, as Theo had said. Writing down their names beside bullet points,

Daphne Greengrass.

Terry Boot.

Parvati Patil.

And now Ernie Macmillan(Beside which she placed a question mark not entirely convinced that this letter was true.)

According to Theo, these students were more than likely being taken to an alternate timeline(circling this, she placed even more question marks along with Theo’s name)

Underneath the list of students, Hermione wrote out even more questions-

Why are the students being taken now?

Why so quick?

How will we get them back?

Why was he so sure Hermione needed to stay safe?

And who was the fifth student Ginny had said went missing first?

Why is Theo in this timeline?

Reminding herself to check in on the redhead to ask, she rubbed at her now aching temples. Hermione sent the scroll into the top draw of her desk with the flick of her finger, placing a disillusion on it as well for safe measures. If anyone were to read it, she was sure she would be sent to St. Mungos faster than she could say sugar quills.

She was going to get to the bottom of this, even if it did drive her insane.

— —

By Friday afternoon, three more students had gone missing, all of which from Slytherin. Thankful- not that she would admit it, that of the three missing, none of them was her potions partner.

“Hermione,” Theo gently nudged her shoulder, breaking her from the thought process, “Would you mind passing the lavender?”

Nodding her head absentmindedly, she picked the small flower from the vial it was in, handing it to Theo, “Malfoy still not talking to you?” So noted that the blonde Slytherin hadn’t shown up to class since moving into the Head Boy room. Noticing Theo tense beside her, she laid her hand gently on his shoulder, squeezing, “I’m sure it will be okay, Theo.”

Shaking his head as he dropped the bit of lavender in the cauldron, causing the potion to turn the light purple it was known for, “I don’t think it will be,” Eyes flicking to the potion master near the front of the room, “I really screwed up, Hermione.”

She held out the empty vial for Theo to start filling with the now finished potion, “I’m sure you are overreacting, Theo. Why don’t you come back to my dorm with me? I have a few more questions about-“ cutting her eyes around the room, she dipped her head closer to him, “You know.”

“Won't Draco be there?” Placing the stoppers on the vial, Theo began to collect the remaining empty containers from the ingredients that they used, “I wouldn’t want to make it awkward.”

Waving him off, Hermione began placing her books back into her bag since the class was about to end, “He’ll have to get over it. It’s my common room as well. Besides the last two nights, Malfoy hasn’t returned until almost lights out, so I’ll doubt he’ll be there.”

— —

Theo stood in the third-floor corridor just beside the portrait he knew concealed the head common room. Staring down at his shoes that just peaked out from under his robes, he caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eyes before hearing someone suck in a quick breath. 

Lifting his eyes to find Draco Malfoy standing in the middle of the corridor made all the breath leave Theo’s lungs.

“Draco-“

Shooting his hand up to stop whatever sentence was forming on his tongue, Draco breezed past him, muttering the password for the common room, “I don’t want to hear it, Nott.” Swallowing every bit of pride he had, Theo slipped in the portrait just before it swung shut. “I thought I told you to leave it, Theodore.”

“No.” He gritted down his teeth, “You listen here, Malfoy, and you listen well. I’m sorry for rushing you like that. I was so overwhelmed with everything- which I know is not an excuse, and ever since I got here, things have just been confusing for me! You don’t understand. In my timeline, you and I were…” Rolling his eyes at how he was about to describe it, magical? “Look, the point is, it was wrong. Draco and I from my timeline sought comfort from each other. The war messed us up, and I’m sorry I projected that on to you-“

All at once, Draco had stalked up to the boy, leaning in close enough that he could smell his sandalwood aftershave, “I’m not him, Theo, get that through your thick skull.” His eyes soften, glancing back and forth between Theo’s blown-out eyes and lower, “I can’t be him…”

Painstakingly slow, Draco leaned those couple of extra spaces, his light breath washing over the shorter boys lips, “Draco-“

This kiss was very much not like the first. 

Whereas the first was nothing but teeth scraping, this one was slow; thought out. His lips melted into his own, unsure but still pressing for more. As Theo sucked in a breath, his tongue slowly darted out, slipping along his lower lip, caressing. Theo didn’t want to scare him away, so he let Draco set the pace this time.

Slowly, Draco’s hand slid up his neck, feathering lightly across his jaw before carding past his ear and into his hair. Tongues finally meeting, the kiss started to heat up. Before he knew it, Theo’s hands were gripping at the tie pulling Draco that much closer as Draco’s hands desperately grabbed hold of the hair at the base of his neck. His body seemed to come alive, grinding his lower half into the boy; as he pushed him further into the wall, Theo took notice in the fact that this very much turned on Draco. Groaning deep in his throat, Theo broke the kiss before leading his lips down his throat, slightly sucking at the spot just below his jaw where he knew Draco would let go.

Just as his tongue slipped from his lips, Draco was pushing off of him breathing heavily. Theo’s body, already longing for the heat that was building between the two, dropping his shaky hands to his side, mouth hanging open.

“That isn’t me. I’m sorry.” Before Theo could even register what was said, he heard the hard slap of his bedroom door closing.

He thought himself a strong person; he really had. But as his body began to slide down the wall, he could feel his chest splitting open and his heartbreaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is titled as a Dramione fic, and trust me it will be but this is going to be a very slow burn so in the meantime we are going to get a little bit of spice from Draco and Theo and maybe more soon hmmmmm....


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mature warning, add a little bit of *spice*

When Hermione finally made it to the third-floor corridor, she noticed Theo was not waiting for her. Deciding it best to wait inside, she gave the common room password before slipping in. Turning to her right, she pulled her robes from her shoulder, dropping her heavy bag along with it. Finally noticing she was not alone in the common room, she spun around on the spot, eyes landing on Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in a very comfortable position on the couch, “Oh, I-“ She squeaked out before realizing.

Upon hearing the interruption, Pansy lifted her head from the blonde, who in turn refocused his attention to the base of her neck, “See something you like, Granger?” As Draco continued to lay open mouth kisses along her neck and further down.

“This is my common room, too, you realize, Draco,” He only hummed in response, “The least you can do is have the common decency to do this in private.” Without noticing, her eyes began to wander across the two, watching in awe as Draco’s hands just barely started to slip up Pansy’s now untucked shirt.

Glowering at the realization, Pansy quipped, “Afraid you’re going to get turned on, Mudblood?”

Draco tensed under her as Hermione's eyes forced themselves from the couple. She was used to hearing the nasty slur from Draco, hell she could ignore it. But hearing it come from Pansy's mouth gave a slight sting.

As she started to laugh at her reaction, Draco abruptly stood, bringing Pansy’s body with. “You’re right, Granger; we’ll take this somewhere more private.” Yet, he didn’t meet her eyes at all. Dragging Pansy past, Hermione’s eyes did the unthinkable and slid down his body only to be met with a bulge in his trousers.

“UH- actually, you know what,” Turning on her heels, again, Hermione faced toward the door gripping the handle, “I was just on my way out. You two enjoy yourselves.” Before slamming the portrait closed behind her. Squeezing her thighs together and trying to get that image out of her head, she knew she had to get away from there.

Giving one final glance at the portrait behind her, Hermione turned and made her way to the one place she knew she could be alone. Stepping onto the fourth-floor landing, Hermione began to recite potion ingredients, anything to get her mind off of what she saw.

She didn’t know she was thinking about Theo until she stepped into her Alcove and was shocked to find the curly-headed Slytherin sitting on the window seat with one knee pulled toward his chest and chin resting on it. 

Anything to get the image out of her mind.

In three quick steps, Hermione was in front of him, and without truly thinking it through, she pulled his chin from his knee and carded her mouth against his. Slowly Theo’s mouth started to react to the impromptu kiss and moved against her’s with ease, but just as suddenly as she got used to the way their lips moved together, he pulled away. “Hermione, we can’t.”

Sucking her bottom lip into her mouth and noticing his gaze follow the movement, “Is this about Draco?” She barely whispered. He nodded, looking away guilty, “Do you want to talk about it?” He shook his head, and before she could even overthink it, she was knocking his knee out of the way, placing herself in his lap, straddling his hips, “Then let’s not.” Before slamming her lips back into his.

Taking mere seconds to register, Theo’s body finally began to react to hers. Slowly at first, his hands feathered up her arms, which were resting on his shoulder, setting every nerve aflame. She didn’t know kissing could feel like this. Sure, she and Ron messed around from time to time, but it never felt like her entire body was ignited.

His hands found their way to her hips before grasping them lightly and pulling them closer, causing her to roll her body into his own. Gooseflesh spread across her arms, over her shoulders, and down her body. She could feel her nipples slightly pebbling from the brush of their chest. Shuddering, she pulled away from his lips just barely enough to sigh his name before his lips were searing into her own again.

Trying not to overthink again, she reached down for one of his hands that still firmly gripped her hip and slipped it forward, “Theo, please,” she gasped out as his hand slid further down, grabbing a handful of her skirt, “Don’t think.” She mumbled against the side of his neck, close enough for her breath to ghost the shell of his ear. As his hand slid further still up her thigh, leaving barely-there touch, she began kissing down his jaw, then across the hollow of his throat, swiping her tongue out slightly across, she felt him groan.

Instantly heat pooled lower, she slowly rolled her hips closer to his palm, and as he barely stroked her, she let out a low whimper. She wanted this. Ever so slowly, his finger pulled aside her soaked panties, and she could feel the cold air hitting her most sensitive area. Gasping, returning her mouth to his, she rolled her hips toward him again, and just as his finger brushed against her sensitive nub, she shuddered, losing her breath.

Catching the breath in his own mouth, Theo moved closer, feeling the heat pulsing from between her thighs, before slipping one finger from her nub straight down her center wetting his digit before returning it to her clit. Noticing her trembling, his free hand slid up to her back, bracing her against him impossibly closer. As he slowly started to work her, Hermione's brain began to fog with bliss, and just as she thought it couldn’t get any better, she silently begged for me.

As if reading her mind, Theo slipped the finger that was circling her clit down before carefully diving in. Back arching, Hermione gripped at the hair on the back of his neck, begging for release. She never knew it could be this blinding. Painstakingly slow, Theo began to pump into her, groaning at the back of his throat, which made Hermione that much more wet; taking note of this change, he groaned out again, this time saying her name. She almost lost it at just that; she never knew her name could sound so delicious coming from someone's mouth, but as Theo added another finger, curving it just so hitting the spot she didn’t know existed, she broke.

Hermione never knew she could come so hard, and as her orgasm rocked through her, she thought she didn’t even know anything at all. Between the panting from Theo, she could hear her self lowly chanting his name as she rode his fingers through the most mind-blowing thing to ever happen to her.

Once Hermione's mind finally came back down into her body, she noticed Theo retracting himself from under her skirt. Her eyes tracked the movement as his fingers paused just in front of his face before slowly entering his own mouth, cleaning them of her own slick. She didn’t know how even after the earth-shattering orgasm she just had, she felt heat began to pool again, and as she ground her hips back into him, she noticed the bulge in his trousers.

Blushing, she opened her mouth, “Theo, I can-“ but he waved her off instead. How was it that after all of that, she could still blush when she literally opened herself in the most intimate way possible to this man? “Something tells me we’ve done this before, huh?” She chuckled to herself at the thought.

Slowly his flushed face seemed to grow even redder as he sheepishly smiled down at her, “Something like that, yeah.”

“Draco..?” She could feel him stiffen below her making her notice just how close they still were. Slowly and on wobbly legs, Hermione stood glancing down at the tent she had created, which instantly replaced the image of Draco. Shifting onto the bench along the other side of the wall, she couldn’t help think back to their first interactions in this alcove just last week and how the roles were reversed. “I’m sorry for jumping you.”

Her fingers began to grip at the edge of her sweater, now feeling too hot to be wearing it, but she couldn’t be bothered to take it off. “It’s fine, honestly, Hermione,” He leaned across the alcove, placing his hand on her knee and squeezing slightly, “I really didn’t mind. It was… nice.”

Her eyes glanced down at his lap, where his erection was still straining, blushing. Hermione looked elsewhere, “It’s just, I walked in on Draco and Pansy in our common room. I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it made my blood boil,” Everything to do with what Pansy had said and not with how it turned her on to see Draco like that. “I wasn’t expecting to find you here, honestly, Theo. But I am glad I did; that was really… nice.”

She blushed again and repeating his words. In all honesty, she couldn’t even begin to put into words how that was. A part of her thought her mind was still somewhere in the clouds because she couldn’t process just how amazing she was feeling.

Theo seemed to crawl into himself at the mention of Draco’s name, but from what she could recall before, she quite literally pounced on him; he didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, she cleared her throat, catching his eyes again, “So I have some theories about the taken…”

— —

Friday marked an entire week since the disappearance of Daphne Greengrass.

Hermione sat in bed, glaring at the curtains that surrounded it. She felt behind. Usually, she was the first to know everything, but Hermione knew nothing for the first time in what felt like forever. Talking herself out of skipping her morning classes to research some more theories, she threw the blankets from her bare legs, slipping her feet into her worn slippers that Harry had gotten her three Christmas’ ago.

Gathering her clothes for the day and a towel, Hermione headed for the shared bathroom. Normally she would take a bath or shower before bed to relax, but after everything that happened between her and Theo last night, she slipped into her bed, falling asleep almost instantly. Just as she made it to the bathroom door, she heard just barely the shower running. Karma really hated her.

Banging on the door, “You can’t be serious, Malfoy?! Didn’t you wash off after you and Pansy slept together? I know I sure would have!” Abruptly the water stopped, and before she could remove herself from the door, it swung inward, leaving her line of sight right at Draco’s chest.

“Why, Granger, if I didn’t know any better, I would say that tone of voice sounded almost jealous.” Ripping her eyes from the water that just so clung to his chest, she gave Draco her most intense glare, hoping it scared him away, “Like what you see?”

Jaw-dropping, she watched as Malfoy casually winked at her before slipping away and back toward his bedroom door. Opening and closing her mouth much like a fish out of water, Hermione’s only response was, “Sod off, arse.” Before she swept into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Thanking Merlin for magic, she switched the shower on, casting a warming spell on the water. As she closed her eyes to let the water wash over her face, her mind casually threw the image of Draco and Pansy back into her mind. Groaning, she reached forward, switching the faucet all the way too cold as if to freeze the thought out of her head for good.

Once done with her, not so, relaxing shower, Hermione made her way to the great hall for breakfast, still feeling the heat on her skin. Stepping into the bustling room, her eyes instantly shot toward the Slytherin table, landing on a sun-kissed face. Praying he would look up at her so that their eyes would barely meet, she cursed as he continued starring down into his bowl. Awkward.

Tearing her eyes away, she set off down the tables, searching for Ginny. Once seated with a warm cup of coffee between her hands, she glanced up toward the redhead who was in full conversation with Dean Thomas, “Gin? May I ask you something?”

Abandoning whatever quidditch argument she was having, she turned toward the brunette with a warm smile stretching across her slim face, “Sure ‘Mione, what’s up?"

Tapping her wand to the coffee, adding a pinch of Lavender to the mix, “It’s just the other day when we were talking about Greengrass?” Ginny nodded, “Well, you said she wasn’t the first to go missing? As head girl, I would have been notified of any other student had been missing before Daphne, but I don’t recall being told anything.”

Glancing down the length of the table, Ginny leaned closer to Hermione, lowering her voice, “This stays between us, right?” Noticing the change in her voice, Hermione waved her hand, creating a silencing bubble around the two girls, “Thanks.” Trying to be as casual as possible, Ginny took a bite from the scone that previously laid abandoned on her plate, “You know how dad works for the Ministry, right? Well, he and a couple of the other heads of departments were sent home early the other week, just as a precaution apparently, but according to dad a couple of weeks ago, department heads started going missing,”

Hermione’s eyes widened at the new information; why hadn’t the minister announced any of this? If adults were going missing, why wasn’t Hogwarts informed so that maybe the students could be protected?

As if reading her mind, Ginny continued, “The Minister didn’t tell anyone; at first they thought it was a leak of something from the DOM, and he didn’t want to scare the public, but when dad was sent home, he was told to keep himself in the house and not to go into Wizarding London, just in case.”

Suddenly from the corner of her eye, she saw Draco entering the hall. Knowing that the two definitely needed to be told this new information, Hermione began to rise from the table, causing the silencing charm to break and the loudness of the great hall to return, “Thank you for telling me, Gin, but I think I’ve gotta go.”

If Ginny knew where she was going, she made no move to call her out; simply smiling at her, she replied, “Alright, stay safe ‘Mione? I’ll see you at lunch.”

Nodding her head, Hermione made way straight to the Slytherin table, stopping just in front of Draco, who sat with Pansy practically in his lap, “Ah, come to see more, Mudblood?”

“Actually, I was coming to rescue your boyfriend from death’s grip, Parkinson.” Glaring at the hag, Hermione turned her gaze toward Malfoy, “Dumbledore wanted to see us in his office; he sent me an owl this morning telling me to gather you once you arrived in the Great Hall.” Nodding his head, he detached himself from the overly clingy girl at his side, “You too, Nott.” Over her shoulder and she turned on her heel and exited the hall.

Finally, hearing the two catch up, Hermione turned toward the grand stairs knowing exactly where to go, “This has nothing to do with Dumbledore, does it, Granger?”

Smiling over her shoulder, “Ten points to Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy. Now, follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing anything like this so uhhhh??? No judgment eek.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mature warning! Little bit more of spice.

The Room of Requirements presented the same room that it had a couple of days prior, except now it seemed to have multiplied the bookshelves surrounding the worn leather couch per Hermione's silent request. As the two boys slinked into the room behind her, Hermione made her way around the room, grabbing a couple of books that she had remembered seeing before and setting them down on the table. Without saying a word, each of them grabbed one of the few that she sat down silently reading them as she continued through the room, glancing at a few titles before deciding on grabbing a handful of them and returning them to the table.

“Right, so a few of the theories that I had for the Taken, was that they were unintentionally being taken, maybe at random maybe because Voldemort just wanted people close to Harry, which one only makes sense for a couple of the people that were taken. But after hearing what Ginny told me this morning, I started thinking some more.

“Maybe these people are being taken for a reason. I know Parvati study at St. Mungos for a couple of months this summer, so maybe somehow someone in your timeline knew that and took her for her experience. Terry Boot’s father works for the DOM, and I’ve overheard him brag about how his father takes care of some rather nasty dark artifacts, so maybe he was taken for his knowledge of them. Ernie’s great-great-grandfather helped do some reconstruction of Hogwarts a century or two ago, a lot of stuff to the lower levels of the school; I don’t really know much about them because they aren't really in Hogwarts; A History, but I’m sure I can ask around a little.

“I’m not too sure about Greengrass other than the fact that I know she was amazing in DADA; she almost beat me in OWLs last year, so I can assume it's something to do with that. Cormac’s uncle was very close with the Minister. I can’t even begin to say why he himself was taken considering he has no brains-“

“Kitten, breath please,” Theo placed the book back down beside the ever-growing pile on the table and held his hands up to her, “This is all of the things you told me last night, but what does this have to do with what Ginny said this morning?”

Stopping, Hermione's eyes finally turned to Theo before locking onto his own. She could feel the blush creeping up her neck and slowly filling her cheeks, “Right, well-“ She continued, tearing her eyes away from his inviting gaze, “So Ginny said this morning that a couple of the heads at the ministry have gone missing as well and I think they might be connected somehow, I’ve-“

Draco slammed his book down suddenly, making Hermione and Theo jump, “Wait a second. When did the two of you spend time together? And why is your face turning the shade of your blasted house, Granger?” His eyes began to shift between the two before finally landing on Hermione, making her once flushed face completely pale, as did his, “Oh for fucks sake? You two? Please don’t tell me you ran to him after seeing Pansy and me.”

“Now that is none of your business,” She puffed out.

“Yeah, and so what?” Theo snapped at the same time.

“Oh, this is fucking rich. First you-“ He jabs his finger toward Theo, nostrils flaring, “And now you, oh bugger this. You two seem to be getting along just fine without me.” Eyes returning to her, she saw, just briefly, some unknown emotion slide across them before his walls flung back up.

Turning on his heels and snatching his robes, which he had discarded on the back of a chair, he made to leave, “Draco, wait.” She doesn’t know why she felt bad. Hell, before a couple of days ago, she and Draco hardly spoke a word to each other, but the pit in her stomach made her call out to him, try to make him understand. “We…” But before she could get another word out, he was slamming the door closed behind him. Glancing at Theo then back toward the door, she made a split-second decision, telling Theo to stay here she followed Draco out of the door.

She knew it was a bad choice, but the pit in her stomach made her. Telling herself it was for the sake of being civil and being able to live with each other, she pumped her legs faster, trying to catch up to him.

“Piss off, Granger.”

Huffing a final time, Hermione stopped in the middle of the corridor, “Why do you even care, Draco? Mad that Theo likes to kiss and tell?” She knew it was a low blow, Theo had told her in confidence what had happened between the two, but he had no right to blow up at the both of them like that.

Turning faster than she could blink, Draco retraced his steps, coming within inches of her, towering, “You don’t know anything, Granger. Just run back to Nott, give him a week. I’m sure he’ll fuck you just as well as I fucked Pansy the other night when you got all hot and bothered.”

Her hand had a mind of its own. She expected the loud sound of connecting flesh, anticipated the sting to come, but it never happened.

Draco snatched her wrist out of thin air with seeker-like reflexes, gripping it so hard she knew it would bruise. Leaning closer to her face, so close she could feel his breath puff out of his nose, “You ever touch me like that again, Granger, and I’ll be sure it is the last thing you ever do.”

Before she could even react, he was tossing her arm away and storming back down the corridor away from her. Blinking slowly, once, twice, Hermione massaged her wrist, holding it close to her chest.

What the fuck?

— —

When Hermione returned to the room, Theo was lying across the couch, one of his long legs resting over the arm as he flipped through one of the books she had placed on the table. Glancing up at her and doing a double-take, he tossed the book down, straightening his back, “Hermione, what’s wrong?” He must have noticed how pale she looked, how she continued to rub her wrist, or maybe how vacant her stare was.

Shaking her head, she turned and plastered a smile on her face, “Nothing, Theodore. Can I finish explaining my theory?” He didn’t believe her, but he knew when to let it be, so he nodded his head, sliding over on the couch to give her some space. “As I was saying, Ginny said a couple of the department heads were going missing, and the Ministry didn’t want to make an announcement and scare the public. But now the problem is, we don’t know which department heads went missing, and Mr. Weasley surely didn’t tell Ginny, but I have a few bets on who they are.

“If I were an evil wizard, who would I want in my evil army? For starters, someone who knows the Ministry's works, maybe someone who knows who works in the ministry? A Wizarding version of HR? From there, Voldemort could get information on who the big dogs are, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Cormac’s uncle were taken; being that close to the minister, he probably has some massive secrets. Ernie's father was second in command to Auror Shaklebolt so that he could have possibly been taken. Maybe that’s another reason the students are being taken, as leverage to make their parents fall in line? More bodies for his army.

“As for the Slytherins, I know nothing about them and the only person who could help-“

“Is Draco,” Theo finished, sighing loudly and running his hands through his curls, pulling them forward as he dragged his hand down his face again. “I told you, Hermione, it has to be you two. You can drag out all the books you want, but you know it’s the only way. I’m sure even here, his name carries some weight, and his father could get information about the missing ministry workers.”

She knew what he was saying was true, but she was stubborn. Draco was stubborn. She knew the longer she put off working together, the more people would be taken.

— —

He doesn’t know why he blew up. It was Granger, for fucks sake; he didn’t care about her.

He didn’t.

But even as the conquered up vision of the two of them together clouded his mind, he knew he didn’t care about her—either of them.

He couldn’t.

They obviously didn’t need him, so why should he care that they spent more time together? Ever since Theo disappeared for a couple of days and came back, everything has been confusing. Everything has been different.

“Drake, there you are!” Groaning, he stilled himself for the on slaughter that was Pansy Parkinson, “What did that Mudblood want? Very rude of her to interrupt us, two times in a row at that.”

Mudblood.

How could she so casually say that word? Just the thought of it on his tongue made his mouth taste like ash. “She told you, Pansy, Dumbledore just wanted to speak to us.”

“About what?” Shit, he didn’t think she would be that smart, “Actually, I don’t even care. How about we skip class today, drake-y,” She had rounded him at this point, dragging one carefully manicured finger across his shoulder, “Finish off what Granger intruded on last night?” Normally Draco would jump at the chance to get his dick wet, even if it had to come from Pansy. But the thought of Hermione and Theo continued to run through his head, “Looks like you have the same idea,”

That stupid finger of hers dragged down his chest and lowered before he snatched her wrist, pulling it away from his body, “You know what, I just remembered, Dumbledore wanted me to collect something from Snape and bring it to his office, excuse me, Pansy.”

He was painfully aware of how hard he was, and for once, he didn’t want Pansy to have anything to do with it because it was disgusting. The intense pull in his groin was because of her.

What the fuck.

Trying to collect his thoughts, Draco rushed toward his dorm, reciting potion ingredients and recipes; his godfather would be so proud. Painfully his cock strained against the zipper in his trousers. Okay, so maybe not. He tried to put the thoughts on the highest shelf in his mind, somewhere he knew he would never touch it again, but every step he took shook his shelves, causing it to fall. He placed it there trice more before giving up and letting it lay face down on the floor. Muttering the password, he slammed the door shut behind him, raking his hands through his fine hair, tugging it, trying to pull the thoughts from his head.

The more he struggled, the louder they got. As he rushed past her room, he could smell the faint smell of her. Mint mixed with… Gardenia? Inhaling deeply, he groaned. This wasn’t going away. 

There was no way this was happening.

But as he stepped into his room, his hands had a mind of their own, brushing over the strain in his trousers, making him groan in his otherwise quiet room. Salazar's balls, this was happening. Leaning against the door behind him, Draco pushed the zipper down, the weight of his unbuckled pants causing the slacks to slid down his slim hips, allowing him to slip a hand into his pants.

He could feel the bead of pre-cum slid down his length. Shuddering at the warmth of his hand clasping over himself, he let out a small groan as he began to stroke lightly. Closing his eyes, his vision began to take on the form of her. Her face slightly red as she yelled at him in the corridor just moments prior. Her lips as she hurled insults at him. Her eyes lighting up at the realization of her theories.

His pace quickened; he knew he wouldn’t last long. He could feel sweat gathering on his brow as he gently squeezed himself, causing a deep moan to escape from his lips. “Fuck,” He stuttered out as he felt himself tipping toward that edge. Suddenly, Hermione’s face flashed from behind his eyes, replacing itself with Theo's face, and then he fell. His orgasm tearing through him as he thought of Theo. His hips bucked a final time against his fist as the after waves flew over him. He could feel the wet clinging to his thighs.

Removing his hand from his pants, Draco cast wandless Scourgify thinking;

What. The. Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short this time; I've had a long work week, but I am off the next three days, so hopefully, I can get some chapters in.


	10. Chapter 10

When Hermione woke Sunday morning, she was used to the sight of the high ceilings in the Room of Requirement. After the fight with Draco, Hermione couldn’t return to their shared dorm, so she slept on the leather couch. She had told Theo she would head back to her own dorm after she finished reading a book she thought might be of help (Which it hadn’t) and that she would return after. She didn’t want him to worry. But when he had returned early the next morning to continue on his own reading, he knew she had lied. So last night, long after curfew, the two decided to stay up and continue researching.

But as she woke to a rather loud snore, she realized that had also been a lie. Shifting her eyes toward the noise, she noticed that Theo had fallen asleep sitting up on the floor in front of the couch. His body slightly turned as one of his arms curled around Hermione’s thigh, creating a pillow for his head and effectively trapping her in place.

She twitched her thigh, trying to wake him gently, but only another snore escaped his mouth. “Theodore,” she twitched her leg again, nothing. “Theo,” She nudged his shoulder, nothing, “Dora.” She lightly shifted her fingers through his curls, scrapping her nails gently across his scalp. This seemed to work.

“I would think if you were to give me a pet name, it would be something other than ‘Dora.’ I was thinking more along the lines of; ‘Charming’ or ‘Sexy.’” His deep voice rumbled through his chest, sending a warm shock through her body as his arm tightened around her thigh.

Why would he even say things like that? What happened between them in the alcove was nothing more than letting steam off, right? They were both upset, clearly not in the right headspace to be thinking things through. It meant nothing. “Kitten, I can quite literally hear the gears grinding in your head.” Blushing as he finally let go of her, sitting up and stretching his neck out, causing it to crack a couple of times. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to doze off and use you as a pillow. At least I don’t drool, right?”

“Uh, yeah, right. I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back,” She rushed into the room that was just conjured, shutting the door softly behind her. Turning toward the mirror, she cringed at the sight it reflected. Her curls that were somewhat normally tamed now took on a size 3 times bigger than normal, her bloodshot eyes were rimmed with dark under circles, and she was pretty sure there was dried drool on her chin.

Tapping her wand on her wrist, a faint glow of the time cast on her skin, 6:47 AM. They probably hadn’t been asleep that long, which meant they didn’t lose much precious study time. Replacing her wand in her pocket, Hermione turned the faucet on, splashing some cold water across her face to wake herself up more. She wordlessly conjured a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste; regardless if it were just a couple of hours of nap, her parents would kill her if she skipped on brushing her teeth.

Giving up on taming her wild curls, Hermione opted for pulling it into a tight bun at the base of her neck, leaving a few curls to frame her face. Once somewhat satisfied with her appearance, she left the restroom, finding Theo looming on the wall beside the door. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, just needed to use the restroom as well,” He muttered before slipping in behind her and closing the door.

Deciding not to waste any time, Hermione picked up the book she was reading the night before flipping toward a page that seemed to catch her eye. On it was an ancient ritual that farmers used to locate their lost livestock. Essentially if the animals were close enough, it would shoot up a flare, much like Periculum giving the farmer a general direction. This would be useful if the missing people were in the same universe as the caster, but at this point, she wasn’t sure when they were.

Theo returned from the restroom, peeking over her shoulder as he slipped into the couch beside her, “I think I read that one yesterday; it’s a great idea, in theory-“

“Let’s not do the hypothetical talk again, Theo; my head still hurts from last time.” She slammed the book closed, tossing it onto the table in front of them, and leaned back into the couch, “There are plenty of spells for locating lost items, even a couple for locating lost humans. But, they do nothing in our case since our lost humans aren’t even on the same wavelength as us.”

“We obviously aren’t getting anywhere right now, Hermione. How about we take a break? Go into Hogsmeade and get some breakfast; maybe we can think better on a full stomach.” He stood, holding his hand out to her, waiting.

Sighing heavily, Hermione slipped her own hand into his warm and welcoming grip, “It’s not Hogsmeade weekend though, Theo. We could get in trouble if we are caught sneaking out.”

He shrugged, pulling his sweater over his shoulders before catching her hand again, “So we don’t get caught.”

Once safely outside of Hogwarts' wards, Hermione pulled the hood of her winter coat off her head. The hair that was tightly in a bun had started falling out again; deciding to be safe rather than sorry, she charmed her hair into a short blonde bob and charmed her eyes into a deep green color. “Well?” She asked, turning to Theo.

“Hmmm… acceptable, but I prefer the curls,” He gently tugged a strand of the blonde hair between his fingers before walking past her. For a brief second, her mind began to wander to the other night when his hands were coaxing the curls that fell just above her lower back- “You coming, Hermione?” She flushed at the double entendre.

When they stepped inside The Three Broomsticks, they caught the eye of Madam Rosmerta behind the bar as she gave the couple a quirk of her eyebrow. “I’ll go sit,” She squeaked out. She knew her charms were good, but she couldn’t help but feel like Madam Rosmerta recognized her, and she had no doubt that the gossip she was wouldn’t run back and tell headmaster Dumbledore; She placed herself in a booth as far away from the bar as she could.

When Theo arrived at the booth Hermione had claimed, he held a pie in one hand and two glasses of water in the other, “Told Rosmerta that we were traveling the countryside looking for a new home she sent me away with this pie congratulating us on expanding our family.” He shook his head just as a kettle for tea appeared on the table between them, “Crazy old hag, you would think after spending nearly every weekend in this pub since third year she would recognize me.”

Hermione set about making her own cup of tea, waving her wand to add a couple of pinches of lavender. Glancing up at Theo, she noticed a fond smile form across his full lips, “Be glad she didn’t. I’m sure she would have sent an owl straight to Dumbledore.” Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own again as she started to make Theo’s tea adding two sugars and a splash of milk, “Did you really have to give her a back story, though?”

His eyes followed the movement of her hands, but if she had done his tea wrong, he never said a word, “I’m nothing if not dramatic, Miss. Granger, you of all people should know that.” They settled into a comfortable silence as the two picked at the pie sat between the on the table, “Are you going to avoid him forever?”

Being pulled from her thoughts, she placed her fork down, clasping her hands together, “I don’t suppose I can. If you are so sure that he and I have to work together on this, it’s only a matter of time before we have to suck it up and do so; otherwise, more people will be taken. But I don’t know what to say to him after the fight we had in the corridor. He said some awful things.”

Reaching across the table, Theo took one of her hands in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze, “You know you can tell me, I can beat the shit out of him if you want me to,” Thoughts still on conversation, Hermione pulled her hand free of his instead occupying it with the cup of tea before giving him a short laugh.

\-- --

Draco knew she was back. He woke to the subtle scent of her mint shampoo curling under his door and the soft pelting of the water of the shower. He knew he needed to get out of there. He couldn’t look her in the eyes after what he did; what he thought of. He pulled on the first pair of pants he could find, slipping a pair of dark gray joggers over. He wasn’t dressing to impress anyone he would more than likely spend the day hiding out in the Slytherin common room, where he knew Hermione couldn’t go- but Theo.

Shaking his head from the thoughts of the both of them beginning to form in his messed up brain, he pulled a dark green Slytherin sweatshirt over his head. That was the last thing he needed. Slipping his wand into his pocket, he threw open his door only to actually run into the last thing he needed. “Fucks sake, Granger, watch it.”

He tried. He tried so hard not to look down at her, knew what he would see, but his eyes had a mind of their own. Ever so slowly, they slid from the top of her wet hair, down her face that still had water droplets falling from her it sliding down the slope of her cheek running right over her lips- “I’m sorry!” She blurted out, causing his eyes to snap back up to her own thankfully, he knew if he had looked any longer, “Actually, no, I’m not. Well, I mean, not about this-“

“Spit it out, Granger, I haven’t gotten all day,” He inwardly cringed as her face flushed; he knew he was about to get a famous Granger to spew in .2 seconds. Settling in for the long run, he leaned against the wall just beside his bedroom door, pushing his hands into his pockets, “Well?”

“I’m sorry about Theo. I didn’t know you two were that close-“

“Were not.”

“-I kissed him if that matters at all to you. He wanted to stop, but I think I might have pushed him into it. We just kissed,” She faltered slightly, gripping the bathrobe closer around her small frame, “I’ll back off of him, if that’s what you want, I don’t want to come between you two if that’s the case-“

“Merlin, Granger. Do you think Theo and I are a thing? I’m not gay. I very much enjoy the company of females; if you’d like, I could prove it to you.”

Her back straightened as her eyes finally returned to Draco, “Actually, I think I know well enough since I walked in on you and Pansy, and I must admit Malfoy, you could do better.” This shocked him. Was Granger actually complimenting him? “Maybe Millicent is free?” Ah, there it is.

He squinted his eyes at her, giving her a small smirk; her eyes dipped toward it, which only made the smirk grow, “I’ve actually got my eyes set on something… better.” He said lowly, leaning toward her, which only made her shrink back further into the doorway, “I’ve heard the Patil twin requires some comfort.”

She let a loud gasp pass her lips; he merely held his hand up, warding off whatever she was going to say, and turned on his heel to leave. He heard what he could only assume be her bedroom door slam shut as he made it into the common room door. He groaned as he leaned into the doorframe outside of the common room, feeling the now-familiar twinge in his lower abdomen.

What was it about fighting with Granger that turns him on so much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a filler chapter, the next chapter should be more of a set up for what's to come.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione found Theo to be an amazing study partner.

When studying with Harry and Ron, she would be asked question after question about whatever homework they were doing, which meant she had no time to do her own. While studying with the Patil twins was okay for ten minutes, they would get bored after and start gossiping, causing Hermione to lose focus. Neville was an amazing study partner as well. He was who she would normally study with because, like her, Neville was a hard worker.

But studying with Theo was different. They had most of their classes together, save a few, but what they did have together is what they would study. He didn’t ask any questions- she thanked Merlin, and he only broke the silence once during the two hours they had been studying to ask if he could use some of her ink as his well was empty. This is how Draco found them at the small study table Hermione claimed as her own in second year, ink well between the two and every so often switching books with each other. He almost didn’t want to intrude.

Hermione was startled by the clearing of a throat, eyes jumping from the notes she had just smeared to land on Draco awkwardly shuffling in front of them. She squinted her eyes at him, glaring, begging him to leave, “So, I have an idea.”

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she cooly replied, “Well, what is it, Malfoy? I haven’t gotten all day.” She glanced at Theo, noticing how he paled at the sound of Malfoy’s voice. Neither one of them had spoken since whatever had happened between them Friday, the last three days of classes had gone by achingly slow because of it.

“Uh, yeah… right. Anyway, so I went back to the Room of Requirements and found this book,” He placed the same book she had found the ritual in Sunday morning, not wanting to burst his bubble just yet, she kept quiet, “There is a ritual I found, a farmer-“

“Yes, well, that would be nice, Malfoy, but I’ve already read through that one, and it will only work on animals and seeing how what we are missing is no animals, the ritual is useless.”

Rolling his eyes, Malfoy flipped the book open a couple of pages past the ritual that she had found and jammed his finger toward it, “If you had only read just a little further, you prude, you would have seen this one as well. It’s very similar to the farmers' ritual, but it could revile humans if you cast it right. Add in a couple of commonly known spells, and I feel like we could combine the two and maybe be able to find the missing students.”

“What?!” She snatched the book off of the table, eyes flying across the page. She thought she had read this entire book, which was very unlike her. But right there in black and white was the ritual Malfoy was talking about. The outline was very similar to the one the farmers would use, but looking at the potion required made her heart falter, “Some of these ingredients don’t even exist anymore. Blatte Pulvereues? That went extinct thousands of years ago. Salpeter is so rare that it hasn’t been seen in nearly as long. This would be impossible.”

“Now, Granger, I thought that brain of yours was better than that? Some of these I know for a fact I’ve seen in my Godfather's personal storage. As for the rare ones, I am a Malfoy, and my name does have some weight; I can ask around Knockturn Alley for some sellers. I also have the gold for it. I never knew Gryffindor’s princess would give up so easily.”

Crossing her arms and huffing, she blew a curl from her eyes, turning her glare back to Malfoy, “Like you’re so high and mighty. You fold at the hint of something not going your way,” She snuck a glance at Theo, who looked like he had only gone paler, his eyes refusing to leave the table in front of him. “Either way, the brew time on that potion is nearly two months, so many people can be taken by then. There has to be something easier.”

Slamming his hands down on the table, causing both her and Theo to jump and return their eyes to him, “Damn it, Granger. You are so fucking stubborn. This is the only way. It would probably take longer for you to find another way rather than just brewing the damned potion. Suck it up!”

“How dare you raise your voice at me, you vile, stuck up piece of-“

“Hermione,” Theo’s hand was now stuck between the two who had leaned across the table at each other, “He’s right; this is the only way. My timeline Hermione found the farmers ritual months ago but could never figure out a way to make it work for the missing students. I think this second half was this missing piece, but I never,” He picked up the book, skimming the page, “I never saw this one. I don’t think you did either.” He cut his gaze back to Malfoy, “Can you get us the ingredients?”

Standing straight, Malfoy brushed off his sweater and pushed his hair out of his face, “I’m sure I can, but even I don’t know what half of these look like. I hate to admit it, but I’ll need your help, Granger.”

— —

Of course, if she thought luck wasn’t on her side by the fact that Malfoy finally decided to grow a pair, she knew for sure it wasn’t when Snape found them in his personal supply closet.

They had been careful when sneaking into the Professor's workshop, they even went as far as casting a dissolution spell on themselves, but somehow, of course, Snape could sense them. He didn’t give Hermione a second thought when he pulled Malfoy up from the collar of his sweater, pushing him into the shelves on the side of the door. She doesn’t know what made her; two years ago, she would have loved the sight of Draco finally getting in trouble, but for some damn reason, her mouth wouldn’t stay closed.

“Professor, wait, please, it was my idea. I forced Malfoy to let me in, I knew he did stock on your ingredients, and I knew he could help me get what I needed. Please, Sir, it was nothing to do with him.” Why couldn’t she keep her mouth closed?

Every so slowly, his grip loosed on the front of Malfoy’s sweater, “And what is it exactly you were planning on stealing from my personal store, Miss. Granger?” Her eyes cut to Malfoy, who merely shook his head at her. Why wouldn’t he open his fat mouth? Please help me, her eyes screamed at him, do something. “Never the matter, I’ll just report you to headmaster Dumbledore-“

“No, wait.” Throwing her hands up, daring another glance at Malfoy. He was such a sissy. It’s his Godfather; why couldn’t he stand up to him? “I was trying to make an experimental potion, it’s something not covered in our texts, but I was dying to try it out. I thought I could turn it in at the end of the term for my final potions exam. I just wanted to get a head start.”

He didn’t believe her; she knew he didn’t. Either way, he held his hand out, “Well, let’s see the ingredients, and I’ll think about whether it’s worth it or not to turn you over.” Sighing heavily, she glared at Malfoy before handing over the list, “My, Miss. Granger. This seems like a serious potion, where ever did you find it?”

“Actually, I found it, Professor. I was looking through an ancient ritual text and came across it. I knew I couldn’t brew the potion alone, and Granger,” He spat out, “Is the top of the class, so I thought she would be able to help. We weren’t planning on performing the ritual, just creating the potion. I thought it would make a great experience since I wanted to become a potion master after school.”

Snape seemed to buy this as he thrust the parchment toward Malfoy, “You are aware that some of these ingredients are so rare that even I do not have them, Mr. Malfoy. As for the Blatte Pulvereus, which you know is extinct, you should be able to substitute it with Borge, also very rare and expensive,” He drawled out, sounding very bored with the conversation but continued, “And the Mallowsweet has the same properties as Nightshade so you should be able to substitute that as well, you would just need double the regular amount.” He begin to float around the room, pulling jars from shelves and placing them on the table in the middle, “I do have Salpeter, so you are in luck, but I don’t have any fairy wings; you’ll have to collect them yourself, they do better if they are fresh.

“You will have to use your charm to scrape up some crocodile heart as well. As for Herbaria, I’m sure your father has some in his own personal store. The rest of the dry ingredients will have to be harvested by hand, most of which can be found around the Hogwarts grounds.” He rounded on them, placing a couple more vials on the table. “15 points from each house as well. Now it is almost curfew, so get to your dorm before I am forced to take more.”

With a wave from his wand, all the ingredients he had gathered shrunk and collected in a small pouch that laid in the middle of the table. Giving one final glance to the students, Snape swept out of the room just as quietly as he had entered. “That went well, I suppose.”

He snorted, snatching the pouch off of the table and spinning on his heel toward the door, “Going bad would have meant we would be hanging by our toes from the Astronomy Tower.”

— —

“Luna!”

It had been a week since the trio had found the ritual, and Hermione felt like she wasn’t any closer to beginning the potion. Aside from the few that Professor Snape had given them, they had only collected the couple of dry ingredients that naturally grew around the grounds of Hogwarts. She had been so wrapped up in figuring out how to get the ingredients she forgot that Luna was very close to the fair folk.

Beside her, Theo let out a low groan moving the hand that was kneading thigh to rest on her knee, “As much as I love that big brain of yours, Hermione, sometimes I wish you would just shut it off.” He slumped his head onto her shoulder, and her eyes caught sight of his chest, heaving from his heavy breaths, his shirt barely unbutton enough for her to see the skin.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, I promise I’m here and present,” She and Theo had begun meeting in the alcove once or twice a day to unwind. For the most part, it had been heavy petting and serious snogging, but it hadn’t got nearly as far as it had last week, “It’s just… It’s for the potion, and you know I wouldn’t bring it up if it weren’t something serious.”

“So, looney Lovegood has to do with this how?”

“She isn’t-“ Sighing heavily and deciding not to argue with him, admittedly Luna was a little looney sometimes, not that she didn’t love the girl, “Fairies.” That was all she said instead. Digging through her satchel at her feet, she began by pulling out the potion ingredient list handing it to Theo, and then pulled out her copy of Hogwarts A History. “I know for a fact, Luna is very friendly with a lot of creatures in the Forbidden Forrest, and I remember reading somewhere that there was a colony of fair folk in the northern part of the Forrest,”

Theo rested his chin on her shoulder, watching her as she flipped through the book in her lap, “Right, so you want to ask Luna to fetch you some fairy wings?” She grimaced, looking down at her watch, which read 15:22.

“Actually-“

“Please don’t tell me you are sending me into a creepy forest with a madwoman!”

“Theodore!” She slapped his chest, causing him to utter a small ‘oof’ in response, “She’s actually quite nice once you get to know her. Please, Dora, I wouldn’t be asking-“

“-Unless it was something serious, yes, yes, I know. Totally unfair of you to use that hideous pet name on me as well.” He rolled his eyes, pulling the book from Hermione’s lap, which sat open to an illustrated map of the forest, “Why does it have to be me? Can’t you ask Lovegood to get the wings herself?”

“While that would be ideal, Luna loves company, and I don’t want to use her. I would go myself, but there is a prefects meeting in less than an hour that I have to attend.” She had forgotten that being Head Girl meant she had to organize the Halloween ball. While, yes, it was Hermione’s favorite holiday, she couldn’t understand why the headmaster insists on still holding the ball while students were going missing. At this rate, half of the student population wouldn’t even be attending. “I’m sorry, Theo. I would love to come with you; I have always wanted to see the fairy colony. I’ve heard such amazing stories from Luna.”

Suddenly Theo’s face light up, causing Hermione’s stomach to do a delicious flip, “So, I guess that means you owe me,” He leaned closer to her, leaving a hot opened mouth kiss along her jaw. Her head fell backward, giving him more access to the area that he knew she loved, “I have a few ideas.” His hand, which had been holding her book, slipped over her knee, lighting gripping her exposed thigh.

The book slipped from Theo’s lap as he shifted closer to her, causing Hermione a sharp intake of breath, which was instantly captured by his lips, “Theo, my book.” She murmured.

“Sod the book.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, I'm sorry, please don't hate me. 
> 
> I just got finished working 45 hours over the last 6 days and I didn't get to do any writing. I am working on the next chapter as I'm posting this and I'm off tomorrow so hopefully two more chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

“You’re late.” Of course, Draco Malfoy was the only person on earth who could pull Hermione’s head from the clouds. After spending another 20 minutes with Theo, Hermione could not think straight. Again.

“I’m actually ten minutes early, you ferret.”

“Which is actually late, Granger.” His voice really grated her nerves. Choosing to ignore him and not sour her delightful mood, Hermione walked past him into the Prefects meeting room. “Let me guess; you were with your new boyfriend.”

Still ignoring him, Hermione walked about the room, placing a parchment piece on each table that had notes on the upcoming ball. Hermione hadn’t had much time to plan out between everything happening this last week, so most of the page was blank. She was willing to take ideas; typically, she was on top of everything, having each ball or feast planned out at least a month in advance.

“Did he finally sleep with you? You don’t have your normal stick up your arse.”

“Careful, Malfoy, your tone sounds jealous. Can’t get it up for Parkinson anymore? I can’t say I blame you.” She spared him a glance, noting his chest puffing up, which made her snicker. She seemed to have the upper hand on him just this once. “If you don’t mind, we have a meeting to run.”

Snatching one of the pages off of the table, he glanced over it, obviously not taking a word in, “So is that where you’ve been when you haven’t come home? Shacking up with your boyfriend? Why, Granger, I didn’t know you had it in you. You do know that is against school rules. I could take points from your house.”

She turned on him, leaning over the table between them, jabbing a finger close to his chest but not quite touching him, “As if I missed you with your hands literally down Parkinson’s panties just last week-“

“I told you what would happen the next time you touched me, Granger-“

“Hey, Hermione, I have a few ideas…” Both of their heads snapped toward the voice of Neville Longbottom, who was standing in the doorway, holding a notebook in front of him, “Oh, I- am I early?”

“Yes!”

“No.” They screamed at the same time, causing Neville to jump at the onslaught, “No, Neville, you’re actually right on time. How about you sit and wait for the others to arrive before telling me your ideas? I’m sure they are amazing.” She cut a glare toward Malfoy before returning a smile at Neville, who seemed to catch the tension between them.

He muttered an agreement before slipping into one of the chairs seated around the table. Not long after, the rest of the prefects filed into the room, save for Parvati, the Gryffindor Prefect. Once everyone was sitting and reading over the few notes Hermione had left out, she took her seat near the head of the table, leaving just enough room for Malfoy, who seemed to be hovering by the door, still seething.

“Right, thank you for coming. Since it is the first week of October, I thought it would be a great time to plan the Halloween ball. Normally I would have liked to start this at the beginning of the Term. Still, I’ve been a little behind lately,” a couple of them chuckled, so unlike Hermione to be behind on anything, “I have a few ideas for who we can have play music, after last year with Flitwick leading the choir, I think it best we start hunting for a band early.

“Hagrid has already begun growing the pumpkins for carving; there will be a booth for the younger students to carve their own. He also has grown a couple of large pumpkins, which we can carve into the house symbols. Normally Terry would, but maybe this year, we can ask Dean Thomas. I know he is an amazing artist.”

Neville raised his hand, “I can ask him, Hermione. I also wanted to suggest a fundraiser this year. I thought it would be nice to raise money and get some of the professors' Christmas gifts. They do so much for us I would love to return the favor.”

“That’s an amazing idea, Neville.” Hermione beamed. She heard Malfoy, who had finally taken a seat beside her, mumble something like ‘Hufflepuff’ beside her, but she chose to ignore it. “Does everyone else agree?” Everyone nodded their head before scribbling on the parchment in front of them, “Right, well, I’ll leave the choice up to you eight on what you want the fundraiser to be. A lottery or an auction would probably be best. Bring your idea’s to me by the end of the week. If that’s all, I think we are finished.”

Slowly, everyone started to pack their bags and leave; Neville, however, stayed back, giving Hermione a glance then nodding his eyes toward Malfoy. Hermione shook her head at him. It was sweet he would worry about her, but she was a big girl and could handle him. Once he left the room, Hermione flicked her wand gathering her papers up in one hand and holding her satchel in the other.

“Granger, wait.” She caught Draco from the corner of her eye reach out to her arm before deciding to let his own fall back to his side, “I found a seller for Plangentine.”

“That’s great news, Malfoy. Why are you telling me?”

She could see his jaw tense. He looked like whatever he had to say was causing him pain. “I need you to come with me.”

“Come with you?” She gave a small laugh, “Why on earth would you need me to come with you. You’re a Malfoy, doesn’t everyone in Knockturn bow down to you?”

“Yes, well,” He gritted out, “Not always. It seems your name now carries weight. Or rather, being friends with Potter carries weight. I guess even after almost eighteen years of defeating you-know-who, people still adore you.”

Her eyebrows knitted together as she wrung her hands. She had never been to Knockturn Alley, she knew of the dark magic used there, and she vowed never to go. “I don’t- I can’t- I can’t go there alone.”

Scoffing, “Don’t tell me brave Gryffindor Princess is afraid of something.” He glanced up from picking at his nails, his face somehow becoming soft, “Hey, I’ll be there with you, I promise.” His hand reached out for her for a split second before he again let it fall to his side, “You really think I’ll let you have all the fun?”

“Oh, piss off, like you actually care.” She knew when she was being mocked. Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Heir that he was, cared for no one but himself, “Just owl me the meeting place, and I’ll go by myself.” She turned on her heel, fleeing from the room.

Bloody Gryffindor pride.

— —

Luna Lovegood wasn’t nearly as mad as everyone thought she was. Barmy, sure, but not entirely loony. At first, she seemed to wander the edge of the forest, veering slightly north, where Theo knew the Fairy Colony lay. But she seemed in no rush at all. As the sun slowly descends into the sky, Theo knew they needed to hurry; he wanted to be nowhere near the forest at night.

“You know, you aren’t supposed to be here.” Her light voice broke through his train of thought, causing him to flinch slightly. “I know who you are, Theodore Nott.”

“Excuse me?” How could she possibly know who he was? How did she know he wasn’t supposed to be here? In this timeline? In this Forrest? At Hogwarts in general? Maybe she was a nutter.

She twirled a blonde strand of hair, turning toward Theo, “Hermione was supposed to be here. But I guess you will do. The fairies like nice looking men, I’m sure you will be to their liking.” Nutter. “But you know that already; that’s why you are here. And there. They’ve told me about you.”

His eyebrows stitched together. “They’ve told you about me?” Suddenly she was out of his eyesight, darting toward a tree just inside the forest. “Lovegood?”

“Yes, Theodore?” At first, he could only hear her airy voice. It sounded all around him, bouncing off the lake to his left then from the trees to his right. “This way,” Her hand twisted around his arm, yanking him into the forest before he could blink. “They were wondering when you would come back to speak to them.”

As his eyes adjusted, he noticed they were in a shimmering vale that hadn’t been there a minute ago. The sun looked high above the tree, which Theo found odd considering it was nearly five in the afternoon. “What do you mean, Lovegood? I’ve never seen a fairy in my life.” She was kneeling on the ground beside a tree lying over, seeming to talk into the air, but no words were coming out. “You really are off your knocker,” He muttered to himself, walking closer to the blonde.

As the sun melted into her blonde hair, Theo could barely distinguish between her and Draco. Draco’s hair was white, and Luna seemed to glow in the sun, giving off a shine of its own. How someone as insane as her could be related to Draco really blew his mind.

“They’ve seen you before, Theodore.” She waved her wand in front of her, another shimmer bled away as Theo’s eyes had to adjust again, “They are glad you are back but sad that you are here in this time.” He really wanted to scrub at his brain. Had he fallen on their way here and knocked himself out? There was no way his imagination could make something like this up. Before him sat, a small gathering of what Theo now understood was fairies. To the naked eye, they looked like specks of dust, but as Luna pulled him closer, he could see that, just like her hair, they glowed in the light. “We were just speaking last month, and they so hoped you wouldn’t be here this soon.”

“This soon? What do you mean, Lovegood? I don’t understand this.” He sat beside her as she leaned closer to the glowing dust that he refused to believe were actual fairies. “I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

“Aine says you shouldn’t be here. This time isn’t right for you.”

“This time?”

“Yes, they are very close with the Centaurs and have shared prophecies often. They told me this is the fourth time we have spoken with them, and the last time was supposed to be the last. Theodore, are you hurt?” She turned toward him, holding her hand out to him. “You don’t seem hurt, but I can feel it.”

“My brain hurts.” He muttered to himself.

She leans closer to his face, close enough for him to see the golden flakes of freckles that dotted over her nose, “I see,” She murmurs, reaching out and touching her hand to his chest, “This is the wrong time, and the wrong life for you.”

He stumbled away from her touch as if being burned by her. Pulling himself from the forest floor, “I don’t- I don’t understand,” He gripped at his hair, tugging it slightly as the pain began to form in his head. He could feel a searing pain pulsing at his neck, and as his hand slipped down his nape, he could feel it. The jagged skin just below his hair. In the shape of-

“How are you even alive, Theodore?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slightly NSFW
> 
> I do want to add that all characters are 18 in this fic. I know 7th year they are 17 but for the purpose of adult content, they are 18(Hermione is 19)

Hermione tapped her nails on the tabletop, a nervous habit her mother would probably scold her for if she were here to see it. As it was, she was alone at a very sketchy pub on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley. 

Every time the bell above the door chimed, she jumped, glancing at whatever immoral-looking person walked in, hoping that whoever she was to be meeting would arrive soon. Looking back down at the glass of water that the dinghy-looking waiter had brought her, as soon as she sat down, she watched as pieces of dirt floated around.

Suddenly the chair beside her scrapped out, causing her to jump and nearly knock over the glass. “You shouldn’t be here alone, Granger.” She snuck a look at him, notching how his eyes were glaring around the room as well, on edge just like her. “Bloody Gryffindor.”

Her nails began tapping again. 

She should be calmed by the familiarity of Malfoy sitting here, a- somewhat friendly face, but she noticed again that more faces turned to look at the odd pair. “Malfoy, I don’t-“ She was starting to get panicky. She didn’t want to come here, but the Gryffindor courage in her made her. She felt like every prickly eye on her knew who she was. What she was. A Mudblood. Her heart rate quickened. From her peripheral could see Malfoy fidgeting.

“Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Granger.” A man sat at the table across from her. He looked small in frame, sickly almost. His skin looked gray and sunken in around his eyes, his cheeks gaunt, and yet he had an air about him that said ‘don’t fuck with me,’ which seemed to put Hermione on edge even more. “I trust you found your way here easily.”

Hermione’s throat was dry, but she didn’t dare drink the murky-looking water that sat on the table in front of her. Malfoy spoke up instead of her, “We did. Thank you very much, Mr…?”

He waved his hand, “Not important. I have what you are looking to buy, Mr. Malfoy. But things have changed. I require something else in return.” His beady eyes turned to Hermione, freezing her in her seat.

“I thought we agreed on the price via owl this morning.” Malfoy could sense Hermione tensing beside him; it was obvious. Her fingers had stopped tapping and lay flaccid on the table just between them, “I can offer you double of the agreed if that’s the case.” Malfoy laid his hand on the table, just close enough for her to touch if she just-

“Actually, I was hoping to speak to Miss. Granger alone, you see. That is why I requested this meeting.”

“Absolutely not.” Hermione’s eyes shot to Malfoy, who seemed to be grinding down his teeth. “If you want to speak to Granger, then I am going to be here. I will not leave her alone.” Something very deep within her fluttered, but she instantly squashed it down. Malfoy was only being the pureblood gentlemen he was raised to be, regardless of her blood.

She stretched her hand out, just barely so as her pinky swiped his own, causing a sharp intake of air from the both of them, “What Malfoy is saying, sir, is that if it’s so important, you can say it in front of him; otherwise this deal is off the table.”

He grimaced, placing a small satchel on the table, “I thought you might say that. I have heard of how close you and Mr. Potter are, which is why I asked you here today. You see, I need an insider. Someone very close to me has vanished, and every turn I take, there is red tape blocking me from investigating, I know Mr. Potter’s Godfather is on the case, and I would like to know a few inside details.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad, but what happens if I get no information for you?”

He stood, giving them a bright smile, “Good question, Miss. Granger. It’s simple. I turn myself into the Ministry for selling illegal black mark items and give your name as a buyer. I have witnesses'; everyone in this pub works for me so that you won’t be getting out of it. I expect an owl by the end of next week with the information I require.”

With a snap of his fingers, the couple was standing in the alleyway beside the grimy pub. “That went… well, I suppose.”

Beside her, Malfoy snorted, shaking his head, “You and I have very different ideas of how good things go. I’ve dealt with seedy men like him. He didn’t take any coins, which means he’s going to ask for more than what he just asked for. We owe him a debt now.” He grimaced, pulling the collar of his jack up around his neck, “Now I’m going to see my father. He might have some of the ingredients that we are missing. Please don’t lose these, Granger; they are essential. I most likely will not return to the castle tonight.”

She sneered at him, opening her mouth to retort, but the snap of his apparition cut her off. Bloody prick, treating her as if she were a child. She placed the small satchel within her beaded bag and twisted on the spot, landing just inside Hogsmeade.

— —

When Hermione returned to her shared common room, she noticed a lump curled up on her couch. Upon closer inspection, she found Theo curled under her favorite quilt her mother had made her for Christmas for her first year at Hogwarts, Crookshank tucked neatly in the crook behind his knees. Trying not to disturb him, she swept by gently petting Crookshank before heading toward her room.

“Hermione?” She nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning toward Theo with her hand clutching at her chest, she watched as he rubbed at his eyes, letting out a small yawn. “How did things go?”

He held his hands out, motioning for her to join him on the couch. “Uh, everything went… well. We have the ingredients, which is what’s important.” She sighed heavily, scooting onto the couch beside his hip, “Did you get the fairy wings with Luna?”

He noticeably cringed before pulling her into a laying position beside him, belting his arms around her waist like it was the most natural thing for him, “Yes,” He nuzzled his face into her neck, laying soft open mouth kisses just below her ear, “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

She began melting into his touch, gravitating toward his warmth. The hand that had been wrapped around her slowly dipped up her back, leaving barely-there touches along her bare skin, “Theo…” She murmured against his hair, content with the feeling of him pressed against her, “Is everything okay?”

He shushed her, brushing his lips against her own, causing her eyelids to close slowly. The kiss was so unlike the others that they had shared. Slow. Caring. Tentative. Almost as if they were both afraid to break whatever spell was being held over them. Slowly, her hand trailed over his jaw, heading toward the nape of his neck to grip at the hair just how he loved, but suddenly Theo was leaning over the top of her, pinning her hands to the sides of her head. She strained against his hold before locking eyes with his own heated ones causing desire to sore through her.

He leaned closer to her, his warm breath fanning across her causing her own to hitch in her throat, “Theo,” She groaned out. Her body began to move out of instinct, her leg hitching up his hip pulling him closer. She could feel the heat of his own body, making her yearn for it. “Theo.” She breathed out one last time as his lips finally reconnected with hers.

Whatever dam that had been built broke completely free. She could feel the small pull behind her navel as one of his hands slid free of hers, gripping at the thigh that was wrapped tightly around his hip. A soft mewl left her own mouth, swallowed by his own as his hand slip down her thigh, bunching her skirt as he went. Now finally free, her hands began to unbutton his shirt, pushing it across his shoulders as his own hand began to pull at the band of her underwear gently. She wished more than anything she had thought to wear any of her other knickers, but it was washing day, so she was wearing her very bland, very boring white ones.

Theo seemed to take no notice as a finger slipped between the band and her skin, skimming across her hip, “Hermione,” groaning, he pulled from her placing his mouth just below her jaw, just barely swiping his tongue out, causing her head to fall back into the cushion behind her. His other hand made fast work of her shirt, unbuttoning the top so that just the top of her bra was peaking through, slowly he laid open mouth kisses down her throat, stopping at the hollow of her neck and sucking just barely. Hermione’s head was somewhere in the Gryffindor tower as his tongue made quick work of the skin, surely leaving a mark.

Mind numbingly slow, his other hand dip into her knickers, one of his fingers ghosting over the sensitive nub causing a sharp intake of breath to leave her lips. She shifted her hips, trying to push his hand lower, to get some friction, when suddenly there was a noise from the doorway—a throat clearing.

“My how the tables have turned, Granger.”

She should have been ashamed, embarrassed even, at the thought of Draco Malfoy catching her in the heat of the moment. But something deep within her preened at the thought of him seeing her- them, in such an intimate position. Just as suddenly as the thought flashed across her mind, Theo pulled away from her, covering her half-exposed body with the blanket and bringing her back to reality. “Piss off,” Theo spat out.

She chanced a look at Malfoy then, noticing a slight gleam in his eyes as he stared straight at her, “Can’t you take this somewhere a little more private, Granger. I want to be able to use this couch in the future without having to remember this ghastly scene.” It was gone.

Gathering her pride, Hermione stood, keeping the blanket wrapped around her, “You know, what Malfoy, you’re totally right. Unlike you, Theo can get it up just fine.” WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? She didn’t dare look Theo in the eye as she snatched his hand and stomped off toward her room.

— —

Of all the things Draco Malfoy expected to see in his shared common room, it was not a half-naked Hermione Granger withering on his couch. He could have stopped it, should have made them aware of his presence in the doorway, but something about the way they moved together intrigued him. He watched the way her leg wrapped around his waist carefully as his hand moved to grip it, causing something in him to stir awake. His mind finally caught up to what he was witnessing as he heard a soft noise he would have never expected to hear come from Granger. His gaze flicked toward Theo’s hand, watching it as it disappeared beneath her skirt.

He cleared his throat without even realizing he had. “My how the tables have turned, Granger.” If he hadn’t been paying such close attention to their body language, he wouldn’t have noticed how Hermione’s chest seemed to puff out in pride. He squinted his eyes, trying to make sure he caught the sudden emotion before letting his eyes lock back onto hers.

“Piss off,” His eyes flicked back toward Theo, who only looked proud of the situation as well. He felt a sudden tug in his lower stomach, making him aware that this turned him on for some reason.

Blinking hard, he turned his eyes back to Hermione, placing what he hoped to be a bored expression on his face. “Can’t you take this somewhere a little more private, Granger? I want to be able to use this couch in the future without having to remember this ghastly scene.”

Before he could even blink an eye, Hermione was up gathering the patchwork quilt around her small frame, glaring at him. “You know, what, Malfoy, you’re totally right. Unlike you, Theo can get it up just fine.”

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?

She grabbed Theo’s hand, who looked just as confused as he felt, and stormed toward her room, slamming the door behind her for extra measure. Draco could do nothing but stare at the space they had just occupied.

Grumbling to himself and stocking off toward his own room, he thought sarcastically;

Great, another amazing image for the wank bank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to rewrite the beginning of this chapter 4 times, and I've been working on it since 2 AM Tuesday night, (It's not Wednesday afternoon) so I don't really know if I'm happy with this.
> 
> I have had the last four days off in a row thanks to the snow so you guys are getting extra content. Right after this is posted I am swinging into writing the next chapter so maybe by the end of the night, I'll post another.


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione knew she shouldn’t let Malfoy get the best of her, and yet, he did.

She silently cursed his name as she lay awake in her bed. She had long ago given up the thought of sleeping naturally. 

She tried counting sheep like her mother had taught her when she was five. 

She tried counting the titles on the ceiling as it started to brighten in her room. 

She even tried counting Theo’s shallow breaths from across the room where he laid curled up under the patchwork quilt he seemed to calm as his own. She thought to herself she ought to write to her mother to see if she could make Theo his own. Deciding rather than lay in bed in her thoughts, she should start her day early.

Quietly as she could as not to wake Theo, Hermione made her way around her room, gathering her school uniform and oxfords. Slipping into the joined bathroom, she quickly dressed, leaving her sleep clothes in the hamper for the house elves to clean later. When she returned to her room to grab her bag, she took notice of the fact that Crookshank was again curled up with Theo.

Traitor, she thought to herself.

Out of the Head common room, Hermione took solace in the quiet of the old castle; she always loved morning just before the students started to wake, the castle seemed most at ease. Turning on her heel to head toward the kitchen for a light breakfast, she suddenly stopped having heard footsteps echoing down the stairs from the headmasters' office, which sat at the end of the hall.

“Auror Black?” The familiar shaggy black coat that the older Black wore came into view as Hermione picked up her walk, catching up to him with ease, “It’s so amazing to see you! What are you doing here? Has it to do with the disappearances?”

Sirius Black looked as elegant as ever. He normally wore the shaggy black coat when he shifted animagus form, now probably used for the cold nip of October, dropped casually over one arm. His smart plum three-piece suit looked crisp as ever, and black oxfords shinned to the nines.

As she approached him, he placed a gentle smile across his face, “Hermione, how many times have I told you to call me Sirius? You’re practically part of my own litter, what between you and the Weasleys running around Grimmauld place Remus and I raised you.” She gave him a shy smile as he wrapped her into a tight hug, “I’m here on personal business. I was just with your headmaster to ask for my husband and Godson to join me for breakfast, and you’re more than welcome to join. I’m sure they won’t mind; in fact, I’m sure they’ll be over the moon.”

The sooner she could get more information about the missing students and ministry workers, the better she thought as she nodded her head in agreement, “That would be lovely, Sirius. Why don’t I run up and grab Harry, save you some time?”

“Right, you go along then, I’ll fetch Remus.”

— —

Draco thought himself a heavy sleeper, sharing a dorm with Goyle, and his obnoxiously loud snoring for the last six years sought to that.

However, a blood-curdling scream sent him scrabbling out of his bed in a panic, grabbing at his wand, which is had wedged between his mattress, pulling on whatever pants he could find, and flying out into the hallway. The screaming had stopped for a moment as Draco stood trying hard as he could to catch his breath; then, all at once, it was back.

And coming from Grangers room.

Without a second thought, Draco lifted his wand, sending the door flying open just in time for the orange kneazle Granger called a pet to come flying from the room, racing between his legs and out of the common room. The screaming became louder, and he was sure the entire castle had been woken from it. Rushing into the room, his eyes first landed on her bed; noting that it was empty, he then began sweeping the room, landing on a withering figure on a cot just to the side of the bathroom door.

Theodore Nott’s scream filled the entire room. The ugly patchwork quilt he knew to be Grangers bunched up at his waist as he began thrashing around the bed, letting loose streams of curse words that- if not in the current situation, Draco would complement on the creativity of. Thinking quickly, Draco cast a Muffliato around the room, praying to whatever Gods there was that no one had heard the screaming.

Before his mind could catch up to his body, he was pushing himself across the room, snatching Theo up by his shoulders and softly shaking him, “Wake up, you fucking prat,” He franticly whispered, “Theodore.” He began shaking him harder, hoping to finally wake him and stop him from wailing louder than Moaning Myrtle.

With one final scream, Theo’s eyes snapped open. He began clutching at Draco’s shoulder so hard he thought for sure it would bruise, “Hermione-“ He panted out, still trying to catch his breath, “Hermione, where is she? Is she okay?”

“Uh- I don’t, I don’t know, Theo. She wasn’t here when I-“

“I couldn’t save her; I tried.” He suddenly pushed Draco away, anger washing over his face, “You didn’t do anything.” He shoved him harder, “You just fucking stood there,” Hit. “You stood there while your crazy fucking aunt tortured her,” shove, “You called him! You brought him there,” another hit, this time harder, “You got her killed!”

Draco’s eyebrows knitted together as he continued shoving at him, “I got who killed?”

“HERMIONE! YOU FUCKING ARSE.” Before Draco could even process what was happening, Theo was on top of him, slamming him into the ground, “She’s probably dead because of you! You and your stupid fucking family. You’re all a bunch of pansies.” Theo’s fists pounded into Draco’s chest, knocking the breath out of him, but he didn’t even seem to notice or care. “It’s all your fault, you piece of shite!”

“She isn’t dead!” He wailed out, causing Theo to stop his onslaught. Draco snatched his wrist, fearing that he would continue hitting him, “She isn’t dead; she’s okay. She’s fine.” He said more calmly, “What happened to you?”

He sank away from him, pulling his knees into his chest, staring at Draco with glassy eyes, “I don’t know- I can’t remember much.” He pushed his hands into his hair, gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white, “I don’t know if she’s alive. I saw it. I heard him say the curse, and I couldn’t think of anything but her. I had to save her.”

Draco pulled himself up, watching the fragile boy as he shook his head, “What curse, Theodore?”

——

Side-along apparition was much different than a solo apparition, and for that, Hermione cursed Harry Potter's name. After a year of apparating herself, she was used to the sick feeling she would get in her stomach as she twists and turns through space, but somehow side-along apparition was much worse. Harry had grown up within the wizarding world and used side-along most of his life. Hermione very obviously did not.

As she doubled over, clutching her knees and trying to stop her stomach from churning, she thanked all of the old gods that she had yet to eat as she was sure the sidewalk would be colored with the contents of her stomach.

“Oh, come on, ‘Mione. Don’t be dramatic; it can’t be that bad-“

She held up her finger, “You know first hand how bad my jelly-leg jinx is, Potter, don’t make me use it.” He held up his hands in surrender. Straightening herself back up as Remus pat her on the back, giving her a reassuring smile. “Thank you for bringing me along to your family breakfast, Professor Lupin.”

“Remus,” He corrected her, “You know you are always welcome to a family outing, my dear. You are the daughter we never had,” Glancing around once before teasingly saying, “Now, don’t tell your parents that.”

Harry Potter was the first-ever wizard Hermione had ever met. When she received her Hogwarts letter, she knew in her heart that every word on that page was true. Growing up, she knew she was different from all the other children; no one else could turn a flower petal into a fish as she had at the age of eight. Her parents had told the neighbors kid that she had just been pulling a prank on him, and the fish wasn’t real.

They moved away two months later.

So when Professor McGonagall showed up at her parents' quaint home in Hampstead, she was eggar to accept whatever the older witch had said. Her parents, however, needed more convincing, which led McGonagall to turn into her animagus form and make her father faint. Once her father was awake and calming with a cup of tea, Professor McGonagall explained to the trio that Hermione was a which, and from what she had gathered, a very talented one at that. After a couple of more afternoon tea visits, Professor McGonagall introduced the Grangers to the Blacks as a magic buddy system.

From there on out, Hermione and Harry were glued to each other's hips. They did their first school shopping trip together, where they met a cold boy who seemed to hate Hermione for no reason. After complaining to Sirius and Remus later that afternoon, they explained the difference between her, Harry, and Draco Malfoy. They told her that no matter where she came from, how she got her magic, she was just as deserving as any of them.

When they had arrived at their new school, Hermione thought for sure Harry would leave her for his new friend, Ronald Weasley, since he grew up just like Harry and knew everything about the Wizarding world where she knew nothing. However, Ron, along with his three older brothers, accepted Hermione like she were no different. Whatever fears Hermione had going into her first year were washed away as she was caught up with learning anything and everything about her new world.

So for the next six years, Hermione had been accepted into not only one new world but three. The Grangers and Blacks became so close they were practically family; every holiday was spent together. Half of the day would be spent in the wizarding world, the Black family welcoming them with open arms. The other half of the day, the Grangers would teach them everything they could about the muggle world. Remus seemed to be the most interested, and every holiday he would come with a roll of parchment with questions about everyday muggle things.

Her parents wouldn’t admit it, but his amazement with their world was the best gift they could have ever received from the couple.

“Of course, Remus,” She smiled up at the Professor, “And, Sirius.” They both nodded their heads at her before linking their arms together and setting off toward their favorite breakfast diner.

Harry fell in step with her, his hand shoved in his pockets, “You’re still going to tell them, aren’t you?” She gave a soft laugh before looping her arm with his, “They really do mean it, you know. I am so glad McGonagall chose my family to be your magic buddy. I know dads won’t admit it, but at first, they were both very hesitant. Neither one had met a Muggle before your parents; Sirius’ family was much like Malfoy’s. They hated muggles and muggle-born as for Remus, his mother was a muggle, but shortly after giving birth, she fled. I think that’s why he is so obsessed with asking your parents about muggles; maybe it's a way to feel closer to her.”

“I’m glad I met your family too. I really don’t know how my life at Hogwarts would have been if I hadn’t met you before. I’m sure it would have been very lonely.” She smiled gratefully at him as he pulled out her chair for her before taking a seat to her left. “I’m actually thrilled that I ran into you this morning, Sirius. I was hoping to ask you a few questions,” He glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow in question, “It’s about the missing students; I’m sure you are aware of them, right?”

He sighed heavily, placing his cup of tea back on the table before wiping the corners of his mouth with this napkin, “Of course. But the question is, how much do you know about them? I assume I’m correct in thinking you’ve been researching this. So very like you, Hermione.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he merely held his hand up to her, “It’s not a bad thing, pup. I’m sure after Hogwarts, you could have a very promising career in the Auror department if you wish. I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell, I know very little about the students, but we have been trying to connect the disappearances with some of the Ministry workers.”

She blushed, “Yes, well, Ginny may have mentioned some of that…”

He gave a short laugh, “Miss. Weasley, she’s a smart one too. Yes, well, we have had a few department heads go missing, mostly low-level departments. But just last night, we had someone from the DOM go missing-“

“Sirius! You never told me-“

“I’m telling you now, love, which is why I asked you to breakfast this morning. The strangest thing though, when we found he was missing, we began a report on him, to keep a record; however, this morning, upon searching his office for any extra clues, we found a note seemingly from him.” He scratched at his beard before shaking his head, “Only, the handwriting doesn’t match.”

Hermione thought two things at that moment;

One, she needed to get her hands on the letter that Ernie's parents sent.

And two;

She needed to talk to Malfoy and Theo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added a couple more tags to this story, one of them being Wolfstar CAUSE WE MAKING IT CANON BABY. WE LOVE MARRIED LIFE.
> 
> If anyone would like to follow me on Twitter my handle is Ultral0u


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